Thomas and Friends: More Tales from Sodor

by The Blue EM2


Edward and the Royal Engine, Part 2

The engine sitting in the yard was massive. It had four leading wheels, six driving wheels, and two trailing wheels, all of which support heavy frames, a thick, chunky boiler that radiated power, and a large, spacious cab, with a belpaire firebox and tapered boiler to boot. The locomotive had two smoke deflectors attached to the sides of the smokebox, and the tender was also pretty large, with the metal tapering towards the top. The wheels were painted black, and the boiler, frames and tender were painted red with cream and orange lining. The sides of the cab bore the numbers 6233, and the tender sides had the text LMS. The motion was polished to perfection, and the sides of the boiler carried a symbol of a crown, with a nameplate below it.

Duchess of Sutherland.

"Hello!" the engine said. "You must be Edward!"

"Yes, I am," Edward replied. "And you must be Duchess of Sutherland."

"Well, yes, my nameplates do rather betray that fact," Duchess of Sutherland smiled. "But this is quite the honour! I've never seen an engine from Sodor before!"

"She only recently became able to speak again," said a voice, and a woman hopped off Duchess of Sutherland's footplate. She had pink skin and purple eyes, both of which were surrounded by a little bit of blue eye shadow. She had purple, pink, and cream hair in interlocking strands, and wore a light blue shirt, a dark blue skirt, and a dark blue jacket with a strange broche set into it, that looked like a blue heart. She also wore a pair of gold shoes. "It was quite the shock when she suddenly regained the ability, as I had to explain to her that, no, this wasn't 1994."

"I take it then that you are her driver?" Edward asked, as Applejack hopped down from his footplate.

"Yes. I'm Cadence."

"Or, to use her full title, 'Mi Amore Cadenza'," Duchess of Sutherland added.

"I'd rather you didn't use the name," Cadence admitted. "It's far too pompous."

"Well, nice ta meet ya, Cadence," said Applejack. "We're just gettin' refuelled here, and we'll be on our way to London."

"Oh!" Duchess of Sutherland exclaimed. "We're going to London too. What a strange coincidence. We'd best be off, Cadence! We need to pick up our coaches!"

"Of course," Cadence smiled, as she walked back over and hopped onto the footplate. "Let's go! I only hope that D199 is around, as that Cinch is quite the source of trouble."

As Duchess of Sutherland steamed away to find a turntable and collect her stock, Bear arrived to be attached to the back of Edward. Duck was moved over to the refuelling road first, and once his bunker and tanks were filled, he dropped back to York station to attach to the back of the coaches. Bear was then refuelled, and reversed to the front of the coaches. And finally, Edward, gleaming paintwork and magnificent puff, was refilled with coal and water, and in turn dropped back to the train.

The passengers boarded once again, Sir Toppham Hatt clearly having enjoyed his blue favour milkshake. "That was very good!" he said. "If in doubt, have homemade food."

"They say some country cookin' is the fastest route ta a person's heart," Pear joked.

"Should we be changin' whilst headin ta London?" Bright asked, looking concerned.

"I think we should!" Twilight smiled. "I have a new dress purchased specifically for this occassion that I think will fit the bill."


With a loud whistle, Edward, Bear, and Duck departed, puffing down the East Coast Mainline. They had been routed onto the Slow line in order to let another train pass, and were stunned when they saw Duchess of Sutherland roar past on the Fast line, 10 coaches behind her as she roared into the distance.

"What a fast engine!" Duck commented.

"She is a Duchess, one o' the most powerful steam engines ever used in Britain," Apple Bloom pointed out. "And we're not exactly doin' much back here. The two lead engines are doin' all the work."

"Maybe they won't need us after all!" Duck joked. "They seem to have this comfortably wrapped up."

The train passed through Newark, when suddenly Shining got a buzz on the in cab radio. "D7101, this is Grantham Box, do you read me, over?"

"Grantham Box, this is D7101, reading you loud and clear, over!"

"D7101, this is Grantham Box, be aware of an upcoming TSR. A train ahead of you is having technical difficulties and has been forced to halt at Grantham station. We will notify you with more details as you get closer, over."

"Grantham Box, this is D7101, I understand that we have an upcoming TSR, and a train is having technical problems, out."

As the train raced along the line, it soon became apparent what the problem was. They were forced to halt at Grantham as well, temporarily occupying the platform normally used for Nottingham trains. Over on the other platform (well, the Up platform at least) was Duchess of Sutherland and her train. She was red in the face, blowing off noisily, and apparently unable to turn a wheel. "Stupid coaches!" she snapped.

"What happened?" asked Edward, looking concerned. "What caused you to stop?"

Cadence leaned out of the cab. "Brake ejector's failed!" she replied. "Air is leaking into the brake system and preventing me from bringing the brakes off. We'll be stuck here, as we cannot safely operate without continous braking. They'll have to get a diesel to replace us."

Bear suddenly had an idea. "Shining," he said, "remember when I had trouble with my brake ejector?"

"Yes?" Shining replied, not entirely sure where this was going.

"Remember how you disconnected me from the brakes on the coaches and then Fluttershy linked up Henry's brakes, controlling them from there whilst we had the loco brake?"

Shining suddenly realised what Bear was getting at. "Brilliant!" he said. "Absolutely brilliant. We just use the same trick here!"

Applejack, who had overheard the entire conversation, was in on the plan. "Ah'll attach Eddie to the front o' Duchess of Sutherland to act as pilot engine. That way, there ain't too much force comin' from the back. The rest of ya, and the coaches, can be marshalled in behind the last coach of Duchess' train."

"Let's do it," Bear replied. The various engines were uncoupled, and moved about the station, having gotten clearance from the signaller.

Bear moved in behind the rear coach. Once Shining had hooked him up, he applied the parking brake and walked up the train to where Duchess of Sutherland was.

"Hello?" he called. Cadence stuck her head out of the cab a moment later.

"Yes?" she said. "Have you a plan to rescue us?"

"Indeed," Shining replied. "I'm going to disconnect Duchess of Sutherland from the braking system and link it through Bear."

"Bear?"

"Oh, sorry. Bear's my diesel engine. Edward will be acting as the pilot engine to help Duchess of Sutherland along, and I'll be controlling the brakes of your coaches, so you only need to worry about keeping the load moving. The pannier tank at the back will handle the brakes on the rear coaches."

"But won't you be late?" Cadence said. "I imagine you've got a busy schedule to keep to, and helping us-"

"Is no problem," Shining replied. "You're in trouble, and it'd be wrong not to help those in need."

Sure enough, it was done. Brake pipes were disconnected and reconnected, and engines were coupled up throughout the formation, creating a very wacky looking train. Edward sounded his whistle. "Ready!" he called.

"Ready!" Duchess of Sutherland called.

"Ready!" Bear called.

"Ready!" Duck called. "London, here we come!"

With a blast of smoke, the heavy cavalcade got moving. Edward dug fiercely into the rails, his wheels spinning slightly as he hauled the heavy train away. Duchess of Sutherland roared and puffed like an angry dragon, and Bear's engine roared loader than ever before. Duck, although the smallest engine there, was no slouch, and was producing enough noise and smoke for six engines as the train got moving.

"No record breaking!" Cadence called over the radio. "We're limited to 75 miles per hour!"

"Understood!" came replies from the other engines.

"Super Rescue, 2.0!" Bear called.

People turned out on the lineside and at platforms to watch them fly by, smoke pouring from the engine's funnels as they flew along the line. People waved and cheered as they went on through, and some of the crowds were so big the police were called out to control them.

At long last, they descended through Gasworks and Copenhagen Tunnels, and after a brief signal check were cleared into London King's Cross. Due to the length of the train, stopping in the right place proved to be easier said than done. Edward was touching the bufferstops when the formation finally came to a proper halt.

"We made it!" Edward smiled. "London, here we are!"

"And only 10 minutes late, too!" Sir Toppham Hatt, who had disembarked in his posh suit, said. He then turned around, looked at the crest on Duchess of Sutherland's centre lamp iron. "Edward!" he said. "Do you know what train we rescued?"

Applejack looked out of the window and gasped herself. "Well, bless me!" she exclaimed.

"We rescued the Royal Train!"

Just then, the door on the lead coach of the Royal Train opened, and out stepped none other than Prince Charles himself. "Sir Toppham Hatt?" he asked.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," Sir Toppham Hatt replied, and bowed. The other adults had arrived, also dressed far more smartly than before, and did a mixture of bowing and curtysing depending on what they were wearing and their gender.

"You did an excellent piece of work today," the Prince continued. "Although we did arrive late, what matters most is that you and your engines stopped and went out of your way to help those who were in need of help. I shall never forget this, and this sort of ingenuity is precisely why we gave you this award."

"With all due respect, sir, I cannot take all the credit," Sir Toppham Hatt replied. "It was the engines and their drivers who pulled this rescue off."

Suddenly, a member of train staff appeared with four medals. Prince Charles took them up, and gave them to Sir Toppham Hatt, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Shining Armour. "It is my great honour to award each of you the Railway Service and Gallantry Award, for services rendered unto the railways."

Behind them, the adults were beaming with pride. "Ah never imagined this day would come," Pear said, desperately trying not to cry.

"Neither did Ah," Bright smiled. "This is a grand day fer us all."

"And the engines deserve credit too," Prince Charles continued. "Edward, Bear, and Duck, you are all, if I do say so myself, Royally Useful Engines!"

Everybody was so happy they didn't dare groan at the dreadful pun. "Thank you for getting me out of a tight spot, you three," Duchess of Sutherland said. "I have no idea what would've happened if we'd had to get a diesel!"

"That's quite alright," Edward smiled. "Always help a friend in need."

Finally, Shining spoke to Cadence. "Hey, I know we only just met, but... is it possible if we could chat sometime?"

Cadence smiled. "Sure thing. Here's my number, so call me maybe? But not when I'm working. Duchesses are quite maintenance intensive!"

And all were happy that sunny afternoon at King's Cross, not least those who had saved the day.