//------------------------------// // Hero of the Rails, Part 2 // Story: Thomas and Friends: More Tales from Sodor // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// Thomas reversed down the slope and stopped at the signal. Once the lights cleared, he headed into Locomotion: the National Railway Museum at Shildon, a vast facility home to a very big shed that, again, looked like a DIY warehouse. Thomas brought the wagons to a stop in the siding, and then pulled forward into the yard. Not far away was a maintenance shop, full of loud machinery. A chime whistle attracted Thomas' attention, and he looked over to see a large steam engine come to a stop. He had a large, round topped firebox and boiler, and pipework running up and down the boiler. He had two leading wheels, eight driving wheels, and no trailing wheels, and had a large, flat sided tender supported on two bogies. His cabsides bore the number 5820, and the side of his smokebox was adorned with an air brake pump which panted noisily as he released his brakes. "Are you Thomas?" he asked, in an American accent. "I was told a train of vans was being brought here." "I'm Thomas," Thomas replied. "And I brought the vans here, after having a bit of a scrape with steep gradients and heavy loads." "It happens to us all," the big engine replied. "Big Jim, United States Army Transportation Corps S160. I'm on loan from Keighley for the summer. I assume you are too?" "I'm here from Sodor," Thomas replied, as Twilight did some quick checks. "Nice," Jim replied. "I've always wanted to go there. We can- Rosie! Watch it with the wagons!" "Sorry!" a small S100 called, as she scurried past with the trucks Thomas had dropped off. On another track, Silver Link flew past with some wagons. "Having a rest?" he called. "Enjoy yourself!" "He's been whizzing back and forth all week," Jim commented, "moving supplies for a construction project. Why they don't move it by road is beyond me, as it's probably a lot cheaper." "He's privately owned by some snotty rich woman," Twilight explained, "so she probably can afford it. It's some sort of summer residence for her and her family." "Good Lord, don't tell me she has a family! They must be insufferable!" There was another bang. "Rosie, what have you broken now?" "Nothing Jim!" the engine said again. The S100 in question was painted ochre on her tanks with silver paint on the smokebox. Her running number was 72. "That was a box of bananas!" "I wonder how that got there," Jim sighed. He began to back up. Thomas suddenly saw something interesting sitting on a wagon. It was a cylinder. "Does that cylinder design look familiar?" Thomas said to Twilight. "Wait," Twilight noted. "That's almost identical to the old one on Green Arrow." She spoke up. "Jim, may we borrow that cylinder?" Jim looked back and smiled. "Oh, that one there? That's a spare part left over from when Shildon works closed in 1984. I think it had been made for an engine that was ultimately scrapped rather than repaired. We have no use for it, so sure, take it." Thomas was attached to the flatbed containing the part, and a tarpaulin was attached to protect the part from any damage. Thomas then set off. "Thomas, stop!" Jim called. "You need a brake van, as this train isn't continously fitted!" After Thomas got a brake van, he set off from Shildon yard. As he was about to leave, he saw Silver Link heading in the direction of Bishop Auckland. "Where are you going?" Silver Link asked, as he stopped. "None of your business," Thomas replied. The carriage window was rolled down, and Spoiled Rich stuck her head out of the window. "Why have we stopped for no reason?" she asked. "Engines cannot randomly stop and start wherever they feel like it, as it is a violation of Rule 55. You keep stopping without alerting the signalman." Silver Link went on his way, looking very silly indeed. Twilight and Thomas chortled and went on their way. Once back on the main line, he backed up the hill and into the loop where Green Arrow was, pulling up alongside him. "Hello there!" he said. "I've got something for you!" "What's under the tarpaulin?" Green Arrow asked. Twilight hopped out of Thomas' cab and removed the tarpaulin, revealing the cylinder. Lightning Dust's eyes widened in amazement. "That's a spare part from a V2!" she said. "Specifically, a right hand cylinder! That's one component off the list." "The list?" Twilight asked. "Where do I start?" "Start at the very beginning," Thomas suggested. "I am reliably informed by Julie Andrews that it is a very good place to start." "I've conducted a full inspection, and we've got quite the shopping list of parts to replace," Lightning Dust explained. "Green Arrow needs a new lubricator, new injectors, the connecting rods need cleaning up, new cylinders are needed, some of the tubes need replacing, bearings could do with a lot of grease, the brakes are stuck, much of the boiler cladding needs replacing, and a whole list of other things." "What doesn't need replacing?" Twilight asked. "The boiler and firebox are in pretty good nick, and the frames have held up well considering we live in a wet country." As they made their way back to York, Thomas could see the construction project from the lineside. "We'll have to be careful," he said to Twilight and Lightning Dust. "That construction project and Green Arrow are alarmingly close. If we'll be moving parts about, we'll have to time it for when Silver Link isn't in the area." "So, how'd the run to Shildon go?" Spitfire asked, as Thomas returned to the yard. "It went pretty well," Thomas replied. "True, I went down a hill rather fast, but that's it really." "Please be careful with the stock here," Spitfire said. "Many of these items are very old, and I'd hate to see them damaged. Mrs McNicol would be quite annoyed if they were." "That's the General Manager of the NRM," Misty Fly explained, as she finished lubricating Bahamas. "There you are, Bahamas. You're ready for your railtour to Carlisle tomorrow!" "Jolly good!" Bahamas replied. Thomas decided not to tell the others about Green Arrow. The next day, he was busy in the yard with demonstration passenger trains, whilst Boxhill was preparing to set out for Shildon himself. More equipment needed to be moved for a special exhibition, and Boxhill had been assigned... for some reason. "I'm not convinced I can make it," Boxhill commented. "I've only got 500 gallons of water in these tanks, you know." Thomas spoke up. "Boxhill," he asked, "can you do something for me?" "Sure." Boxhill smiled at his new friend. "Anything for a fellow LBSC machine." "I found an engine called Green Arrow in the woods near Shildon. He's very old and needs new parts, so when you've dropped those wagons off at Shildon, could you ask Jim if there are any spare parts available? Lightning Dust will be able to help you." "That sounds like great fun!" High Winds said. "No worries, Thomas! We'll do that, won't we Boxhill?" "Sure thing!" Boxhill smiled, and set off for Shildon. "See you later!" "What were you two talking about?" Flying Scotsman asked, as he came to a stop in the yard. "Oh, something in the news," Thomas replied. Thomas was still at work in the yard later that day, helping to assemble a demonstration goods train, when news came from elsewhere. "Boxhill is having mechanical problems and needs help to get to Shildon. You're the only engine available," said the foreman. "I'll set off right away to help him," said Thomas, and made his way along the main line towards Shildon, calling at Northallerton to pick up water. On the way, however, he popped up to the place where Green Arrow was hiding. "Hello again!" he said. "We're hear to help you fit the cylinder." "I have no hands, so you and Lightning Dust will have to do it," Green Arrow replied. "It was nice of Boxhill to drop her off earlier. His driver's quite a nice lass too." Twilight and Lightning Dust got to work, and after about an hour's work the new cylinder was fitted. "One part down, several hundred to go," Lightning Dust smiled. "It's a good thing Green Arrow has a composite cylinder block; trying to fix this with a monobloc would have required us to rip the entire assembly out, which would be a waste as the central cylinder is fine." "Thanks for the part," Green Arrow said. "Please don't take too many risks for me; I'm just an old engine in less than complete shape, after all." "Which is why we'll work doubly hard to make you new again," Thomas said, and he was on his way. Lightning Dust stayed behind to do some more checks. Later, Thomas met Boxhill and his train. He had stopped just short of the site entrance. "What happened?" Thomas asked. "We ran low on water and had to get help from the fire brigade," High Winds explained. "It's a good thing we didn't drop the plug or put water in the firebox. Seriously, who would do that?" "Why are you stopped here?" Twilight asked. "The load's too heavy to restart on this grade," Boxhill replied. "Can you help push us up?" "Sure!" Thomas replied, and pushed Boxhill into the yard. Jim was there to see them in, and looked surprised. "Hello!" he said. "It doesn't feel like two minutes since you were last here." "I had to help Boxhill get into the yard," Thomas explained. "Do you have any parts?" Boxhill asked. "Whatever for?" Jim asked. "We have a mountain of bits we haven't finished sorting through, but-" There was a loud crash. "Rosie! Be more careful!" "Sorry!" "Anyways," Jim continued. "Why do you need parts?" Thomas decided to tell Jim about Green Arrow. "There's an engine near here called Green Arrow, and he needs new parts if he is to run again. But we cannot tell anybody; he asked us not to. Can you supply us with parts for a V2?" "I think we have enough spares for that," Jim said. "But you may have to use similar parts rather than the exact ones. The A4, A3, and several other Gresley designs share some components, such as springs and cylinder blocks. Any bits you need, I'll leave here at the side of Hetton." "Thank you!" Thomas and Boxhill said in unison. When Thomas returned home (Boxhill staying at Shildon overnight to help out), the other engines were waiting. As was a woman in a suit. She did not look happy. "Boxhill needed your help to get into the yard," she said, "and you were apparently late by over an hour. In that time, Boxhill was blocking track used by proper mainline trains." "We are proper mainline trains!" Churchward said indignantly. "We got delayed," Twilight said, not mentioning Green Arrow. "We'll be on time tomorrow." "You had better be," the woman said. "With Boxhill now at Shildon, you'll do his work as well as your own, as we simply can't spare another engine." "There must be hundreds of engines here!" City of Truro said. "Why not fire up one of the Class 08s?" "The public want to see steam engines," the woman said. "I will see you all again tomorrow." Thomas was moved undercover. "Who was that?" he asked. "Mrs McNicol," Flying Scotsman said. "She's not usually like this, but the summer season is always quite stressful." "Why were you late back?" Spitfire asked. Thomas sighed. He told all the assembled engines about Green Arrow, and asked them for their help. "I'd be more than happy to help," said Flying Scotsman. "A lost cousin of mine in need of parts. We can do that." "Anything the guys at Shildon don't have, we can make it here," Spitfire smiled. "You have my support." "Say no more," Bahamas smiled. "I'm in." "As am I!" said Churchward. "And I!" added City of Truro. "We'll all work together!" said one and all. The next day, the engines went about their work as hard as they could, and were trying to move parts about whilst they were at it. Flying Scotsman moved one shipment disguised as an empty stock move, moving the parts in a rake of old fish vans. "Mission accomplished!" he announced, as he moved into York yard upon his return. "The parts are now being fitted to Green Arrow. We might need a crane, though." "Excellent," Thomas said. "I'll head over to Shildon and see if I can help." "There's a pathing slot coming up in a few minutes, so you can take that," Churchward noted. Thomas and Boxhill headed up to Green Arrow's loop to see how he was getting along. Much of his boiler cladding had been replaced, and the new cylinders were fitted. His connecting rods were now fixed, and he was also receiving a partial repaint. "Thanks for the new bits!" he said. "Lightning Dust said she and Spitfire will put the new tubes in tomorrow, and for that they'll need to lift my boiler. Maybe I was wrong about people; you and the others seem to be a decent bunch." "I'll be around to help with that as well," Twilight said. "See you tomorrow, guys. Are you coming, Boxhill?" "I'll be staying at Shildon for a bit. Now we have parts coming from several places, we'll be able to finish Green Arrow in half the time!" "We need to do this job properly, not quickly," High Winds reminded him. "Of course." Thomas headed back for York, but little did he realise that Silver Link was watching him. "He's up to something," the A4 said. "And I intend to find out what that is."