//------------------------------//
// Gordon Proves his Point 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: More Tales from Sodor 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Gordon arrived at Barrow one sunny morning to find the platform busier than usual. Apart from its role as the interchange between Northern Rail and the North Western Railway, Barrow usually wasn't that busy, so to see this many passengers jammed onto the platform was a bit of a surprise.

"What's going on?" Gordon asked, as he looked over. So many people thronged the platform that he couldn't see what was nearby, or what they were looking at.

"That's a railtour," Rainbow Dash replied. "It's here to run the coast route!"

Just then, the station master came over, looking cross. "That diesel they got to pull the railtour has failed!" he said. "Now the passengers have no way of getting back to Carlisle. We'll have to borrow a service train."

Gordon then had an idea. "Couldn't I take them, sir?" he suggested.

"Steam engines can't run on the Cumbrian Coast Line without a diesel escort, as they don't have the required signalling equipment," the station master replied sadly. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but-"

"Gordon has GSM-R fitted," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "I'd be more than happy to help, if it means getting these passengers home."

"Very well," said the station master. "But I'll need to secure clearance with control for you to run, and something will need to cover you whilst you're on your way."

Just then, a very long train rolled into the platform. It had many coaches, and two power cars at each end. Each coach was painted blue with a white stripe along the windows, and the power cars had a similar livery. Blue over most of the body, black roof grilles and ventilation fans, and a yellow cab roof and base. The side read InterCity 225.

"Perfect." The station master grinned. "We'll use the HST!"

Sir Toppham Hatt was delighted when he heard about the HST. "Even better!" he said. "The power cars have Paxman Valenta engines! The enthusiasts will like that for sure!"

The HST's power cars were called Pip and Emma. Phillipa, or Pip for short (not to be confused with the boy at Arlesburgh West who drove Rex) had a faulty cooling system, rendering her hard to operate, especially given the Valenta engine could get extremely hot. Emma was happy to do all the work, but the increased weight severely limited how fast they could operate. The train set off with a roar, the Valenta turbocharger screaming and smoke and clag billowing into the air as the HST moved off.

"Much better than the converted ones they MTUtilated!" said a passenger, with an approving smile. "I never thought I'd hear that again."



A few minutes later, James arrived at Vicarstown to discover the High Speed Train sitting there, stuck. "I wonder what happened here?" he asked.

"I suffered an engine failure," Emma said. "I do apologise for all the bother."

"And we'll need your help too," said the station master. "Can you tow the train to Tidmouth? You'll need to call at every station per your timetable."

Rarity checked her watch. "I daresay that the express passengers won't want to have to stop at all the stations," she said. "After all, they did board the express."

"Better that than the stopping passengers get angry for the train skipping the booked stops," the station master replied. "Good luck!"

"I say, it reminds me of the Flying Banana which visited us a while back!" James said, as he pulled the train along. To his surprise, the coaches were lighter than he was expecting, and the load was no heavier than a typical passenger train (apart from the two heavy power cars, but they weren't too bad).

When the train arrived at Vicarstown, Sir Toppham Hatt arrived to meet them. "Well done James!" he said.

"Sorry we're late!" James said. "We have technical issues along the way!"

"That's alright," Sir Toppham Hatt replied. "It's a lucky thing Pip and Emma are buffer stock, or else towing them would have required a diesel with special couplings, and I don't think the passengers minded the extra stops. Now then, we'll need to store the power cars before they can be taken for repairs, and I still need to arrange a return trip for the passengers."

Gordon returned home the next day after a pair of spectacular runs up and down the Cumbrian and West Coast Mainlines. Initially worried that Sir Toppham Hatt would be angry with him, he was stunned when Sir Toppham Hatt instead forgave him for the smoke incident, as did Sunny and Petunia (as they were the easy going sort). "Besides," he continued, "the ash that went on my hat turned out to be from a broken ashtray. Although smoking is not permitted on my trains, we are still to finish removing the ashtrays from the coaches. Now then," he said suddenly, "The HST you saw at Barrow broke down whilst you were away at Carnforth, and needs a rescue. Give the passengers a spectacular run, and show them how North Western engines do things."

Gordon smiled. "Yes sir," he said, and backed onto the coaches.

Rainbow Dash grinned as she looked out of the cab. "Right, we'll give them a spectacular run alright," she smiled. "The ton's probably a bit much, but let's see if we can get to ninety."

The signal arm dropped. Gordon whistled. "Express coming through!"

The run was, not to put too fine a point on it, incredible. As describing the entire run would be rather beyond my merit, let me leave you with a snapshot of the run. Douglas was sitting at Crovan's Gate, waiting for the express to pass, when a great roaring started up in the distance. "What's that?" he asked Bon-Bon.

"I'm not sure," Bon-Bon replied. "It is a jet aircraft? Is it a bird? Is it a superhero who frequents telephone boxes?"

It was none of those things. It was Gordon. He roared through, producing enough noise to rival Concorde, steam pouring from his chimney and the passengers cheering from the windows as the train sailed through.

"Thank you very much!" Gordon called as he thundered past.

Douglas laughed. "Gordon may be a high speed engine, but I'm the one pulling the high speed train!"