//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3-Where there's a Mine or a Hole in the Ground 
// Story: Thomas and Friends: New Frontiers 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

Falmouth Dockside once again hummed to the sound of industry, as equipment was being shunted about. Porter was being used to move some heavy equipment to the outer jetty. "What on Earth are they moving in those huge ships?" he asked Izzy, as they rolled along.

"Oh, those two transport ships?" Izzy replied. "The Havens are using that to move the equipment they need for their big expedition overseas! Including a helicopter, for some reason. Seriously, how do they have all this stuff?"

Two large transport vessels were docked at the outer quay, where the heaviest cranes were mounted. Huge amounts of kit was being lifted into them, and large objects were still yet to be loaded.

Four trucks and two carriages were currently being loaded, with Charles and Sophie lined up in the queue. Porter came to a stop with his cargo and laughed. "You going on holiday, you two?"

Charles grumbled. "Being taken to a steaming jungle does not count as a holiday. Besides, these cranes are most undignified."

"How else are you meant to get onto the boat?" Izzy asked. "And why are you taking two Pullman cars with you?"

"The Havens are taking a reminder of home with them," Sophie explained. "Air conditioning, climate control, a space to prepare meals, and proper beds. Sadly we can't take a shed with us."

"And to answer your first question, Izzy," Charles said, "there is such a thing as a Roll On, Roll Off ferry. They use them from Calais."

"Don't they flood?" Porter asked.

"You're thinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise," Sophie replied. "That was caused by some idiot not shutting the front door, and nobody thinking to check if it was actually shut."

Porter's cab radio suddenly buzzed, and Izzy picked it up. "Hello?"

"Izzy? When you're done loading the stuff can you come back to the port? We have things to discuss."

"Sure thing, dad!" Once the truck was uncoupled, Porter was quickly reversed through the dockyard, and stopped at the entrance to the yard, where an impromptu table and several people sitting around it.

"Good luck," Porter said, as his driver hopped off.

Isaac looked up. "Good to see you, Izzy," he said. He indicated to the map on the table. "We've decided to split up to find the clues we are looking for. If you'd be so kind as to explain, Argyle?"

"Sure," Argyle explained. "My family has decided to take on Switzerland as our destination, as me and my family have a good working knowledge of the geography of the country."

"Several photography and business trips tends to have that effect," Goldie added.

"But we won't be bringing Salty with us, as diesel locomotives are not permitted to operate on much of Switzerland's rail network, and some of it is metre gauge anyway."

"We're taking on Ireland," Aurora said. "As you know, Izzy, we have family there, and that will make travelling about the country easier. We can't take Porter though, as the track gauge is also wrong."

"Meanwhile," Lady Haven interrupted, "we shall tackle South America with our resources and equipment, as we anticipate problems. You probably noticed we're loading a lot of rolling stock today."

"Including two Pullman cars," Porter added. "You posh folks think of everything!"

"No point in throwing away the comforts of civilisation," Pipp said. "I hope I packed enough sunblock. I sunburn easily."

"Anyway," Lady Haven continued, "we'll be making our trek through the Amazon, as we know there's rail access through that section of land. The country in question is Peru."

"If that's all sorted," Argyle said, "we beg-"

"Wait a second," Porter interrupted. "Who's looking after us whilst you're all gone?"

"I arranged for Jazz and Rocky to keep an eye on Salty and Porter whilst we're gone," Lord Haven said. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Anyway," Argyle said. "We begin our journey at 05:00 tomorrow morning. Be ready for action."





The Moonbows had arrived at Glasgow as part of their journey to Ireland. They planned on travelling up to Stranraer to reach Belfast, as a handful of the boats still travelled there. But they had a place to go first.

"Glasgow Riverside?" Izzy said. "That is one weird building."

"The architecture is meant to reflect the Clyde River," Isaac explained. "I can remember the days when the museum was still at Kelvinhall. It was a lot better back then, in my opinion. Much more focus on displaying things, less on social history that has nothing to do with the historical artefact. The only upside is it's free. Besides, we need to ask the engine the Havens rescued back in South Africa for clues."

They entered, and walked past the tramcar. "Hello!" said the tram.

Isaac pointed to a sign. "Case in point. That board has ten sentences, and only one of them actually talks about the object in question. The rest of it focuses on dances. I know that's socially important, but who goes to a transport museum to learn about dances?"

"Consult the touchscreen!" said a nearby steam car. "Provided it isn't broken."

The trio walked past the car wall, and finally reached what they were looking for. A large steam engine was on display in the centre of the next gallery, and he seemed to be cheerful enough. "Hello," he said. "What brings you to Glasgow Riverside today?"

"You're name's Nelson, right?" Izzy said. "Remember the guy who saved you?"

"Robert?" Nelson said, his eyes lighting up. "How could I forget the people who saved me from scrap? Are you related?"

"I'm best friends with their daughters!" Izzy replied. "How does life treat you here?"

"Pretty well," Nelson replied. "But I wouldn't mind turning a wheel every now and then. I know the track gauge is wrong around here, but a short demonstration line would be better than nothing."

"We also have a question we'd like to ask," Isaac said. "There's something out there we're looking for called the Lost Engine."

"Which one?" Nelson replied. "There are many throughout history. There are five in my native South Africa. Well, sort of native, as I was built here, but let's not split hairs."

"Clues in Northern Ireland and Switzerland," Aurora said. "Is that one familiar?"

Nelson thought for a moment. "Nothing I can immediately think of, but the story does ring a bell. Perhaps check with David. He's the Jones Goods in the main gallery."

Isaac nodded. "Thanks for the info. It was nice to finally meet you, Nelson."

"You too," Nelson replied. "Good luck."





Meanwhile, at Heathrow Airport, the Starshines were gathered round a table in a cafe, waiting for breakfast to arrive. Argyle had a laptop open and was showing his wife and daughter a map.

"That's our planned route?" Sunny asked.

"From Zurich, yes," Argyle replied. "Getting to the Jungfrau should be a doddle with this lot." He glanced up as the first of the three breakfasts arrived. "Bacon, egg, and black pudding. Great way to start a long journey."

"We apologise for the delay, sir," said the waiter. "We're having a few staff shortages. Your other plates should arrive shortly."

"The flight won't be long either, as it's not that far," Goldie said. "It's also only an hour change. Not to brag but I'm used to jetlag."

"I'm not," Sunny said. "I've never left Britain!"

Just then, the airport public address system piped up. "To all passengers travelling on SwissAir Flight 164, we have a last minute change of itinerary. Owing to a runway closure at Zurich Airport, the flight will now be operating to Milan instead. To confirm; owing to a runway closure at Zurich Airport, the flight will now be operating to Milan instead. We, on the behalf of SwissAir, apologise for the inconvenience."

Argyle sighed. "Well, that's mildly inconvenient. But we can work around that."

"Isn't Milan in Italy?" Sunny asked.

"Northern Italy, to be precise," Goldie explained, as she stirred her coffee. "Went there once a few years back. Nice city, if a bit crowded with tourists."

"Besides, we can pick up the Swiss rail network in Tirano," Argyle explained. "RhB operate from there into Switzerland. We can catch the Bernina Express to Samedan, transfer to the Glacier Express to Brig, take an SBB service to Interlaken, and then catch a BOB  train to Grindenwald. From there we'll take the Wengernalpbahn to Kleine Scheidegg, then the Jungfraubahn up to the Jungfraujoch."

"Maybe I should ask Zipp how to say half those words," Sunny said. "Foreign languages aren't exactly a strong point of mine, and I'd probably make a fool of myself trying to speak it. That's German, right?"

"Swiss German," Goldie explained. "And don't worry; many German speakers find Swiss Germans hard to understand."

A few minutes later, they had finished with their food, and began to head for the gate. Goldie looked about when she saw a figure standing a distance away. "Huh?"

When she looked their way again, they were gone. She shook her head and dismissed it as her eyes playing tricks on her.





The two cargo ships plowed their way forward through the seas, moving across the Atlantic towards the American landmass. The seas were a bit choppy, but they could easily have been a lot worse. Unfortunately, not everybody was enjoying the trip. Charles was grumbling as the ship pitched about. "This is most undignified," he said. "Why don't they just build a railway across the Atlantic?"

"Dingifried?" Sophie asked, with a smirk on her face.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Charles replied. "If they can build a railway under the English Channel they can build a railway tunnel under the Atlantic! It's only, what, 3,000 miles across?"

Charles wasn't the only one who wasn't enjoying the trip. On one of the higher decks, Pipp was looking pretty ill. Her face had gone green from the repeated rocking.

"Sea sickness?" Zipp asked.

"Yeah," Pipp nodded. "This is worse than that ferry to the Isle of Man! Or that trip we took to the Isle of Wight!"

"You'll get your sea legs eventually," Zipp said, trying to be helpful. "I can help, if you'd like."

"A bucket would be a good start. I might be sick at any moment."

The ship's intercom rumbled into life. "Could Zipp and Pipp please report to the mess hall?"

"No wonder they call it a mess hall," Pipp said, wobbling about as the ship pitched about. "There must be a constant mess to clean up!"

"Feet apart," Zipp explained. "If it helps, walk the same you did when our clothes got mixed up."

Pipp pouted at the memory, but took Zipp's advice nontheless. After a difficult walk, they arrived at the mess hall to see their parents already there, looking at a map.

"Hello, you two," Lady Haven said, and gestured for them to sit. The two girls did so.

"This is the plan," Lord Haven said. "See the point here?" He pointed at a bit of land at the bottom end of Peru. "Once we're through the Panama Canal, that is where we're heading. That dock is the starting point of the Trans-Amazon Railway, an ambitious railway built by the British in an attempt to beat the Panama Canal. We'll travel along it and that will get us to a good launching point to reach the mountain."

"Didn't guerrillas blow up the middle portion?" Zipp asked.

Lord Haven nodded. "They did. We'll have to rebuild it ourselves. But I brought a very large support team along."

Pipp's eyes widened. "I'd been wondering what all that steel was about!" she said. "Where did you get all those bits and pieces from?"

"We borrowed a few bridges from a supplier," Lady Haven explained. "We'll need to take them back with us, of course, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it- pun not intended."

Two figures entered, dressed in blue uniforms. One had blue skin and purple hair, and the other had green skin and dark green hair.

"Ah, Thunder, Zoom. They'll be leading our security unit in protecting our operation. You can never have too much security, after all."