Blue Belles of England
"The bluebells are coming,
Aho! Aho!
The bluebells are coming,
Aho! Aho!"
"If ye must sing, Percy," grunted an exhausted Douglas, "can ye at least sing in tune? Besides, nobody writes songs about bluebells. They write songs about cambells-"
"Cambelts?" asked Bon-Bon. "Why would they write songs about mechanical components in cars?"
"Well, that Roger Taylor man did, didn't he?" Donald asked. "Anyways, writing songs about bluebells is nonsense. Bluebells cannot come anywhere. They grow in the ground, alongside those pesky rhodedendrons that destabilse embankments." Donald paused. "And it's 'cambells', not 'cambelts'. C- A- M- B- E- L- L- S."
"My song isn't daft!" Percy exclaimed, utterly indignant.
"Well, it is then," Douglas sighed. "I cairn fine about bluebells anyway. We have a song called 'The Bluebells of Scotland'-"
"These bluebells aren't flowers, silly!" Pinkie exclaimed. "They're engines!"
"Say what noo?" Douglas asked, now even more confused.
"One's coming over with his driver and his controller," Percy continued. "Did you not listen to Sir Toppham Hatt not telling us all about it this morning?"
"Bon-Bon and I were away," Douglas replied. "Some goods needed taking somewhere, and I was the only engine available at the time."
Percy's eyes looked sad. "Well," he said, "I'll have to tell you. Engines over on the mainland, steam, diesel, and electric, are not safe anymore. Nobody wants them anymore, not least the people who manage the railways who want to make the railways cheaper by not running trains."
"Sounds like ScotRail," Bon-Bon said dryly.
"So," Percy continued sadly, "they put them on old rusty sidings, or in yards next to the sea where the salt rusts their frames, and then they... they..." Percy almost couldn't continue, such was the upset in his eyes. "They cut them up for scrap!"
Douglas looked over. "There was a lot of that going on in Scotland when I was up there," he said. "If Donald and I hadn't escaped, we would have suffered the same fate, probably being a teaspoon now. I know exactly what's causing it; it's those diesels their bringing in to replace us. Something about them being cheaper and easier to run, not to mention more reliable." He scoffed. "Try telling that to commuters on the Borders Railway."
"Some diesels are nice," Percy said. "Look at Rusty and Daisy, for instance. Perfectly reasonable, I say. But the majority do seem to be bad, like that Class 08 who made a mess at Tidmouth and attempted to frame Duck for slander."
"Aye," Douglas said. "I wouldn't trust one myself. But what I caenna understan', is all yer blitherin' aboot bluebells."
"There's no need to be rude!" Bon-Bon scolded the tender engine.
"I'm a plain speakin' en-"
Douglas, that's not only the wrong story, but the entirely wrong character. It's like HiT Entertainment are writing this one!
Pinkie took up the story, apparently unaware of the shenanigans going on above in the editing room. "These Bluebells are nice people who want to save engines. They've created a railway called the Bluebell Railway, in Sussex, that runs from Sheffield Park to East Grinstead, both in East Sussex. Engines can escape there, and be safe."
"Sort of like us here," Douglas noted. "Remember that Jinty who helped out a little while back? He said he lived at this Haworth place, the same sort of thing, you know."
Percy chimed in as well. "Yes, indeed. Engines escape there, and if they are ill or in need of repairs, people come together to mend them, and make them run again. They get their own livery, all the coal and water they need (usually imported from Poland), and pull trains as well."
"What a marvellous idea!" Bon-Bon smiled. "It's sort of like Sodor, only on a smaller scale!"
"That Braw hearin'," Douglas smiled in addition to Bon-Bon's pre-existing grin.
"Yes," Percy said as well. "According to Sir Toppham Hatt, the first engine to escape there was an engine called Stepney, named after a place in London. He's running all the way here under his own power, alongside his driver and controller are coming with him."
"What if those diesels catch him?" Douglas asked.
"Apparently," Pinkie said, "there's no danger of that. The train is routed to run to avoid them. And Stepney's a match for any diesel, I can tell you."
Douglas was in awe. "What a brave engine!" he cried. "Fancy fightin' his way through all of those diesels just to see us!"
"Lock over there!" shouted Percy. "The station's crowded!"
"How can I lock?" Douglas snorted. "I'm not a corkscrew, am I?"
"There's no train though!" Percy called. But he was wrong. The signal dropped, and a train rushed toward them. The engine was small and squat, with tanks mounted alongside his frames and a boiler that poked out of the front of them. He had a splasher over his front driving wheel, and a tall cab with a white roof, with a bunker at the back. His left hand tank had an air brake ejector attached, which panted noisily as he puffed through, whistling loudly all the while. The number 55 was written on his cabside, and the words 'STEPNEY' were written in white letters.
"Hello!" he called. "Nice to see you!" And he vanished onwards, into the distance, a white plume of steam echoing from his funnel and cheers reverberating around the station as he started the last stage of his journey.
Bon-Bon looked at Pinkie. "Does the driver look familiar to you?" she asked.
At Knapford, Rarity and James had just arrived with a passenger train, and were looking forward to a rest. "That was a long run!" James exclaimed.
"Indeed, darling," Rarity replied, as she hopped off the footplate. "I do say, there's a slight smudge on your dome. That needs cleaning. In the meantime, we shall have a rest; a cup of tea is in order."
Just then, she noticed a small tank engine running round his train, and coming to a stop at the other end of his coaches.
"Thanks for the run, Sweetie!" he said, with a smile, speaking in a broad Cockney accent.
"No problem!" said a high-pitched, cheerful voice. "Anything for a friend of mine!"
Rarity froze. "Could it be?" she asked, as the driver stepped into view. It was a girl with white skin, green eyes, and pink and purple hair haphazardly mashed together. She wore pink boots with yellow straps, a yellow skirt, a white and pink T-shirt, and a pink jacket with a silver buckle. She also had a hairband in her hair.
The girl suddenly glanced over. "Rarity?" she asked.
Rarity could hold back no longer. "Sweetie Belle!" she cried, running over and hugging the younger girl. "It really has been far too long!"
Stepney looked over. "So, this is the Rarity you've been telling me about," he said.
"Yep!" Sweetie Belle replied. "She's my sister!"
"Is that a nickname?" James asked.
"Her real name is Stephanie," Rarity smiled. "But I think Sweetie Belle suits her so much better. Don't you?"
Sweetie Belle nodded. "It's great to be here. Living with mom and dad in East Grinstead is fun, but I like the change of scenery."
"Well," Rarity smiled, "I hope you enjoy the change of scenery. In the meantime, you must tell me everything that has happened down in Sussex, and I must teach you in the ways we do things on Sodor!"
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Wait, so does Rusty to the Rescue not gonna happen. That's one of my favourite episodes.
10123503
Unfortunately it doesn't make any sense - it implies that the Skarloey Railway runs to Barrow-in-Furness. Besides, it does the real Bluebell Railway a huge disservice.
You skip the rescue went right to the meeting of Stepney and thomas
10123503
I love that story as well, but it's just not how it happened in real life, which is what the books wanted to convey.
I know that, I was just explaining to Banshee531 about the details regarding the books.
Whoa! Sweetie Belle is Stepney's driver? I swear, I wouldn't have seen that coming.
10123503
10123521
10123689
10123890
Rusty to the Rescue doesn't happen in the books. Stepney has been preserved for several years up to that point.
10123892
I thought they went together perfectly in terms of personality. Both are bubbly, energetic, and eager to please.
10124001
That does make sense.
10124073
I had previously paired them in another story which was something of a litmus test for this type of crossover.
10124001
And this time, they didn't have to contend with invisible detectives and marauding 37s.
10124178
Indeed, they did not. Nor were Newport or Freshwater along for the ride.
10124209
Thanks. If you ever want to see Stepney in real life, he lives at Sheffield Park in West Sussex.
10124228
Very good. Of course, you may need to save up. Flying is expensive.
Noice use of the impression that Alec Baldwin gave for Stepney in Season 5.
10124861
You mean the terrible Cockney accent he does.
10124862
It wasn't that bad though....
But it's your opinion and I respect it.
10124865
It made me think of Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins.
10124878
Huh.
10124880
Seriously, Bert the Chimneysweep is hilarious-just not in the way Disney intended.
Well, fancy that. Sweetie Belle is Stepney's driver. I never would've guess.
If I am to take a guess on which engine Scootaloo get to be the driver of, it Oliver. But I'll read on and see.
Huh, so were skipping the while rusty saves Stepney from scrap eh? Darn, I was kinda hoping to see it happen.
Uh, daisy isn't nice at times too you know.
Huh, was expecting Sweetie Belle to be running somewhere else, not Stepney.
11331149
Rusty to the Rescue does not happen in the books. Furthermore, as 10123521 points out the story doesn't make much sense.
11486796
Ik, I just didn't know at the time.