Falmouth harbour never stopped working. Usually the workload stepped up some point around the morning, when the ships came in with the tide to unload their cargo onto the quay. This would then be processed to other places, and shunted into trains to be taken to places far away.
It was hard work keeping a dockside fully supplied, but the engines and their drivers didn't mind. In fact, it was all part of the job. And they wouldn't have it any other way.
One morning saw a somewhat unusual sight on the dockyard lines. Salty got his first awareness of the unusual situation when he heard an unusual whistle. "Ahoy there, Harvey!" he said.
"Hello there!" Harvey said, with a smile, as he came to a stop on the dockside line. "I've come to help."
"We'd rather assumed that," Porter said, pushing some trucks past. "Engines don't normally come out here to sunbathe."
It was at that moment Goldie interjected into the conversation. "The management are questioning why we have a crane tank when we have a separate crane. That's why Harvey is here; we are going to give the Board of Directors a demonstration tomorrow of his capabilities and show them just how useful he is!"
"And I am very useful indeed," Harvey said. He then spotted a small pallette piled high with boxes. "Hook me up to that, please!"
Sure enough, Harvey was connected to it, and with a small effort he shifted it into the air and loaded it into a nearby plank wagon. "Much simpler than moving a statue, eh?" he said, with a smile.
"At least nobody mispronounced demonstration in order to fulfill the learning quota," Goldie said.
"What's a learning quota?" Salty asked.
"Requirement of Canadian television. Twenty five percent of TV shows must be 'educational' in some way, which is why so many kid's shows have morals shoved into them."
"But how does that apply to us?" Salty asked. "We're not moving pictures in books!"
"Never mind," Goldie sighed.
Harvey had lived up to his name on the dockside, making things much easier. But that didn't mean the engines accepted him entirely. The truth was he hadn't been used very much on the dockside since he had been rescued from Perranwell a year earlier, and as such most engines were not used to him. And this was the cause of discussion.
"You know," Charles said, "he's a very odd shape. He lacks symmetry, and symmetry is always important in an engine."
"I'm not symmetrical!" Rebecca said. "Steam engines are, by definition, asymmetrical. And many of the early diesels lacked symmetry too, such as the Class 20s. They only had a cab at one end!"
"Not the smartest of design ideas," Porter stated. "Then again, the Americans stuck with it for some reason."
"His power is also a bit limited," Charles continued. "He can't pull that much stuff! What's the purpose of an engine who can't pull things?"
"His job is to lift things," Rebecca pointed out. "Or tow things off derailment sights."
"Perhaps we should stop gossiping about Harvey when he's right over there," Porter suggested. "He can probably hear us."
"Be quiet, short frames."
Salty was surprised, so spoke up. "Sunny," he said, "I'd like to keep Harvey company tonight. Shall we stay in his shed tonight?"
"The old one in Lighthouse Quarry?" Sunny asked. "That sounds fine. Interesting choice as you spent nearly two decades in there, but a friend is a friend." She backed him through the tunnel and stopped in front of the shed, sounding the horn twice in case anybody answered.
"Coming!" said a voice, and the door opened. Goldie appeared, with an oil can in hand, and waved Salty in until he was past the doors. She then closed them.
"I must admit I wasn't expecting to see you two here tonight," she said. "Something happen in the shed?"
"Some of the other engines were saying mean things about Harvey," Sunny said, "so Salty asked if he could keep him company tonight."
"That's very kind of him!" Goldie smiled. "Would you like to help me ensure Harvey looks and performs his best tomorrow?"
Sunny picked up a wrench. "Just point me where you want me to go."
The next morning, work commenced, even though it was the weekend. The Starshines were down bright and early at the shed, ensuring Harvey was ready to work. Sunny had already moved Salty out of the way, so they were all making the last checks on Harvey.
Harvey sighed. "I feel better for Salty staying with me," he said. "But sometimes I feel as though the others don't like me."
"Nonsense!" Goldie replied. "I'm certain they see you as a member of the team."
"Charles seems to think otherwise," Harvey sighed. "He was criticising my symmetry earlier. And that I'm different. Maybe that's the problem."
Argyle glanced up from the inspection pit. "Charles," he said, "says a lot of things. Not all of them are intelligent."
"Besides, being different isn't a bad thing," Goldie said, as she tightened a bolt. "When we first met, people were saying Argyle and myself were the least likely combination imaginable. But we're still going strong!"
"As the Jamaicans say, every bread has its cheese," Argyle added.
Suddenly, their attention was attracted by some loud whistling from the dockyard.
"What's going on?" Harvey asked.
Before anybody could reply, there was an ear splitting crash!
The short line down from the branch line into the harbour is extremely steep, and trains either need to have good brakes or be very short to have a hope of stopping in time. And this was not one of those days.
Porter had lost control on the descent down the slope, with the heavy trucks slamming into him and pushing him down. "On! On! Faster! Faster!" shouted one.
"Chase him! Bump him! THROW HIM OFF THE RAILS!" bellowed another.
"We're already coupled to him," pointed out another.
"Ah," said the second truck. "In which case, only bump him and throw him off the rails."
"How precisely do we bump him when we have no propulsion?" said another.
"Stop nitpicking and get back on script!" the second truck snapped.
Porter was in no mood for such questions as he rocketed down the slope. His brake blocks were having minimal effect, and they produced a horrible screeching noise as he slid along. "That's not gone well!" he said.
Even at their relatively slow speeds, they were at risk of coming off the line. And when they rounded a particularly sharp bend they did. Porter stayed on just fine, but the trucks tipped over and flew all over the place, depositing their heavy loads all over the dockyard and falling onto their sides. This blocked the track to the sidings on the furthest pier.
"How are we supposed to resupply the trawlers now?" asked a dock hand. "We can't carry this stuff there! It's too heavy!"
"And we can't lift the stock out of the way," said another. "Rocky is far too big to get down here safely!"
Porter sighed. "What a mess."
But this mood was not shared by Izzy. "You know, Porter, I have an idea. Not a cunning plan, but an idea..."
Minutes later, Izzy arrived at the Lighthouse Quarry shed, where Harvey was almost ready to go. Argyle glanced over and smiled. "Hello Izzy! Been a while since I last saw you here."
Izzy looked frantic! "No time to waste! There's been a derailment on the quay and we need help! Could you please help us move the damaged stock?"
"Say no more," Harvey said. "I'm in."
Minutes later, Harvey arrived at the scene of the mess. His crane arm swung over and with minimal effort he began to pull the trucks back onto the track. The chain wound back gently, pulling the stock slowly over the ground and onto the rails. It was a splendid sight to see, and sure enough the mess was soon cleand up, with the trucks being where they should be.
Harvey even then pushed them to the sidings, to prove he could work as a shunting engine.
"Thanks for the help," Porter said. "You got us out of a right mess there."
"No problem," Harvey replied. "We're all useful in our own special way."
Just then, a voice spoke. "That was magnificent!"
Harvey looked over to see a man in a suit and bowler hat standing there. "Myself and my fellow Directors saw that cleanup operation, and I must say you handled it brilliantly considering the circumstances. We are convinced that you are a good investment after all, and so we say you can stay!"
"Thank you very much!" Harvey said.
"I mean, he would be staying anyway, seeing as he belongs to us, but the point remains." Goldie said. "But I hope everybody learned an important lesson today. Just because somebody is different doesn't mean they can't contribute in their own way, and as such we must treat everybody the same way- with kindness, and respect."
"Hear hear!" called a voice, and the dockside was soon filled with cheers and whistles for Harvey the crane tank.