//------------------------------//
// Steam to the Rescue, Part 1 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: More Tales from Sodor 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

It was evening time on Sodor, and although most of the trains had been put to bed for the night, there was still work that needed to be done. Locomotives were still busy marshalling stock for the night, to be kept safe before it went out the next morning, and engines continued to work well after the sun had gone down (which was fairly early, as this was Autumn).

At Tidmouth Harbour, Cranky was starting to get concerned. Ships were still arriving despite it being so dark, and he was concerned. "Hurry it up, Derek!" he said. "There's a blockage of ships waiting to enter and drop their cargo! There's only so long the harbourmaster can stall them, you know!"

"Got it! On my way now!" Derek set off for the yard with some loaded wagons, whilst BoCo returned with some empty wagons.

"Got some fresh cargo for me?" BoCo asked, as he positioned the flatbeds in position.

"Just dropping it in now." Cranky began to lower the pipes with his hook, but he couldn't have known that the pipes had not been secured properly by the boat crew. The cables lost their grip, and the pipes fell out and onto the ground. They crashed onto the dockside, some of them rolling off into the sea or onto other ships. One hit BoCo directly, and caused him to tip over onto his side, derailing him and blocking the line.

Filthy Rich, thankfully, had bailed when the pipes started falling, and went to check on his engine. "BoCo! Are you alright?" he asked.

"I've had worse," BoCo replied. "But the line to the sidings is blocked! Derek has no way of getting back now!"



The next morning, the breakdown crane arrived, and BoCo was lifted to safety. Thomas, not surprisingly, was the one who had arrived with the cranes and their attached flatbed, but lacked the power to take BoCo to Crovan's Gate.

Sir Toppham Hatt arrived. "Thank you for making the extra trip, Thomas," he said. "BoCo's accident has put us in a serious spot of bother. We're now one engine down, and need another to take over here."

"I can do that, sir," Thomas said.

"You can count on us!" Twilight smiled.

"As much as I appreciate the enthusiasm, I need you two on the Ffarquhar Branch. Heaven knows things are going wrong. We've also had a bad lot of coal lately, and Arry and Bert are having technical problems too."

Thomas sighed. "Of course, sir." He set off back to Knapford whilst Derek rumbled forward with some tankers.

"I say, this fuel's bad!" he said, as he lurched forward. His engine stalled, caught again, rumbled a bit, and then stopped completely. "Oh bother!"

Octavia jumped out and took a look. "This fuel is contaminated!" she said. "Water is seeping into the fuel system, which is what caused your engine to fail. I can only hope the diesel hasn't got to any of the other diesel engines on the island." She set about washing Derek's fuel tanks out.

Unfortunately, Octavia was wrong. The new fuel had already been introduced to fuelling pumps across the island, and one by one the diesels on the island suffered various mechanical failures. The only diesel that remained operating was Bear, and that was because he'd only just returned to the island.

"Hello?" Shining said, as he answered the telephone. "Yes? Don't use the Island fuel pumps. Got it. We've got more than enough for a day's work."





Thomas was returning from the docks when he suddenly saw Percy speed past. "Hello Percy!" he called. "Where are you going?"

"To the docks!" he called.

Pinkie then took up the conversation. "Derek'sbrokendownandweneedtohelphimOKbye!"

"Pinkie, slow down!" Twilight said. "I didn't understand a word!"

"Oh," Pinkie replied. "Silly me. Derek's broken down and we need to help him OK bye!"

Thomas sighed. "See you soon. Can this day get any worse?"

Thomas was about to regret tempting fate, as when he returned to Knapford Station only Edward and James were there. "What happened?" he asked.

"It's this darn coal!" Applejack fumed. "The stuff's awful quality, and it's damaged the bigger engine's fireboxes. Eddie and James here can take it, as they were designed ta take it. But the bigger engines can't cope none."

"And that means Gordon, Henry, Murdoch, and heaven knows who else is out of service!" Rarity said, with her usual drama. "Oh, woe is us!"

"There's no need to be such a drama queen," Sweetie Belle said, as Stepney reversed into the yard, followed by Duck and Oliver.

"I AM NOT BEING A DRAMA QUEEN!"

Just then, Sir Toppham Hatt arrived. "Hello, everyone!" he said. "Now then, we're in a bit of a mess. As most of you know, BoCo was damaged in an accident at the docks, and not long after Derek broke down. Following that, most of the diesels on the island broke down as well, something about contaminated fuel. As if things weren't already bad enough, most of the bigger engines have failed due to poor quality coal damaging the firebox doors and leaky tubes. I've called for help from the mainland, but it'll be a few hours until the engines can get here. Until then, it'll be down to you to keep things moving as best you can."

Donald and Douglas blasted in that moment. "We're ready ta help, sir!" they said.

"Excellent," Sir Toppham Hatt replied. "I need you two, as well as James, to assist with freight work. There's a lot to move, so you'll each by working solo."

"That'll be an interesting experience," said Bon-Bon."

"You can say that again," Lyra replied.

"That'll be an interesting expe-"

"NOT LITERALLY!"

"Thomas, you will be working on your branchline alongside Toby. Toby has already collected Henrietta and has commenced passenger shuttles. Edward, I will need you on your branchline. Percy is already allocated to the docks."

"What about us, sir?" asked Duck.

"I need you and Oliver to operate passenger shuttles from Knapford to Crovan's Gate. Bear and another steam engine are already down there, so they'll handle the rest of the run from Crovan's Gate to Vicarstown."

"And what about me?" Stepney asked.

"You're working Knapford to Tidmouth. If you have the time, assist Percy."

Another whistle sounded as a familiar sight rolled into the yard. "Hello!" called Wilbert. "I didn't expect to be back so soon, but a friend needed help. I'll handle the yard here so you guys can get working!"

Twilight glanced out of Thomas' cab. "Such a busy day," she said. "And it's hardly even started. How will we get everything done!"

"The same way we do everything," Edward smiled. "Hard work, and determination. Let's go!"





The rest of the morning was pretty frenetic. Donald, Douglas, and James blasted up and down the mainline with goods traffic, interspersed with passenger shuttles operated via auto trains. The timetable was drastically reduced, but the passengers didn't mind. They knew there were difficulties, and some relished the chance to travel behind engines that didn't usually work on the main line.

The Ffarquhar Branch ran pretty much as normal, as did Edward's branch line. Wilbert and Torque Wrench worked relentlessly to get the trains assembled and ready to go, but no sooner had one train gone, then another came in to be taken apart.

Meanwhile Percy got to work, but the docks were an absolute mess. The idiots at the dockside had kept dumping cargo onto the docks rather than waiting for existing freight to go. It would take him a very long time to clean up...