The Little Lost Engine

by The Blue EM2

Problems with polish

Ocellus took her rag out, and began to polish Scootaloo.

“Stop! That tickles!” the tank engine laughed.

“You want to look your best, don’t you?” Ocellus told her.

“True, but if you could do it in a considerably less inconvenient manner, it would be appreciated.”

Babs spoke up. “I’m lookin’ a bit mucky. I could use a polish.”

“Wait your turn!” Ocellus told her, calmly but firmly.

Just then Cheerilee appeared. “Babs, I need you to take the last train of the day.”

“What is it?” Babs asked.

“Coaches.”

“COACHES?” Babs exclaimed. Unlike most steam engines, Babs preferred working with trucks, as they weren’t full of passengers.

“Yes.”

“But I haven’t been polished!” Babs protested.

“You will do as you are told,” Cheerilee sternly reminded her.

Babs sulked all the way to the station. “It’s not fair,” she grumbled. “Why does Scootaloo get a polish, and I don’t? It makes no sense.” She pulled to a rough stop in the platform. The passengers looked at her, surprised.

“You gonna get on or what?” she asked.

The passengers scrambled on, muttering disapprovingly. The Guard blew his whistle and away the train went.

The Guard looked concerned. “By Faust, she seems to be in an even more foul mood than usual.”

The train ran relatively smoothly, apart from some abrupt starts, as Babs clattered along the line. She rolled over bridges, paused at the lake to let the Refreshment Lady get on, and set off up the slope on which she had derailed a few months earlier.

There is a viaduct, with 5 arches, that runs over a waterfall, before you enter the Top Station. It is a hard section of the line, and the train seemed to be slowing down.

“Come on Babs!” called the Guard. “Just a little further, and the passengers can have their break!”

This was not a smart thing to say. Something inside the Manehattan tank engine snapped. With a jolt, she slammed her brakes on and the train skidded to a halt. The passengers were hurled forward and landed on the floor in a heap.

“Keep moving!” shouted the Guard.

Babs smirked. “Make me,” she replied.

The news filtered down to the shed, and Scootaloo was not impressed.

“This is ridiculous!” she said. “Babs can handle that climb with no difficulty.”

“Maybe she derailed?” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Again?” said Snails. “I already recovered her from that stretch of line, and I am not doing it again!”

“Will you do it, Scootaloo?” asked Ocellus.

“As much as I dislike Babs, we have to get the passengers to the station,” she said. She eased her regulator open and set off up the line.

She reached the source of the problem without any difficulty. Up ahead, the Guard and Babs were arguing profusely, using some profane terms. Here is the bowdlerised version.

“You’re not even trying!” the Guard exclaimed.

“I told you, no polish, no passengers!”

The Guard sighed. “This is ridiculous! You delay the train because you didn’t get polished?”

“Seeing as all the other engines are getting preferential treatment around here, I don’t see why I should work if I get nothing out of it.”

The Guard wandered away. “Her attitude stinks,” he said to Ocellus. “We need you two to push the train into the station.”

Scootaloo buffered up, and pushed with all her might. But the train still didn’t move. Babs’ brakes were still locked hard on.

So, they simply uncoupled the coaches, took them back down the line, and left Babs all alone, up on the hillside. Sweetie Belle came to collect her later and dragged her to the shed. And she did drag her, as Babs had her brakes on the whole time.

Cheerilee was furious. “I hoped I had seen the last of this behaviour!” she bellowed. “Why do you think this is even acceptable?”

“Cause the other engines get better treatment?” Babs suggested.

“You can’t just go on strike when you don’t like things!”

“Is this because I ain’t a country engine?” Babs suggested.

Cheerilee sighed. “It’s a very long time until you come out again.”

“Good!” Babs yelled. “Passengers are annoying anyway!”

Comments

[SonicStreak5344]

Man Babs is just as bad as Duncan in the Thomas & Friends Season 4 when he first arrived on Sodor! I can hear her saying, "I get no rest! I get no rest!"

Also Duncan's theme goes well with her too.

[The Blue EM2]

9243113
That episode was a source of inspiration. Conversely, this theme goes well with Duncan: