Thomas and Friends: More Tales from Sodor

by The Blue EM2

Blue Mountain Mystery, Part 1

High up in the hills of Sodor lies Blue Mountain Quarry, a massive slate quarry cut into the side of the Shane Dooiney hills. This quarry had been in operation for years, supplying high quality slate to all parts of the world. Due to the confined spaces and difficulty of extraction, only narrow gauge engines could get to it, and that was where they were working hard.

Skarloey and Peter Sam were busy working the lower levels, moving empty wagons of slate to be loaded and full ones to be taken down the mountain to Crovan's Gate. "It looks like it'll be another hot one, Peter Sam!" called Skarloey, his thick Welsh accent in full force.

"Isn't it always a hot day here?" Peter Sam joked.

Silverstream leaned out of his cab. "Come on, it's the better type of hot! The hot where you don't get cold, not the horrible, sticky type where you sweat loads and your clothes get stuck to you."

There was a moment's silence. "Silverstream, you do know there is a thing called 'too much information'?"

"I don't think it's too bad," said Ocellus. "Besides, we're sitting in the cabs of steam engines. Those are always warm, and be glad they have cabs for rainy days!"

Whilst Skarloey and Peter Sam shunted, Sir Handel and Duncan worked as 'road engines'. Their job was to haul the heavy loaded trucks down to the main line, where they would be emptied, and then they would bring the loaded wagons back. Duncan rumbled into the yard with a fresh load of empties.

"Here are some more wagons for you to load," he said. "Sir Handel's heading down, last I saw."

"Have fun shunting this lot," Smoulder added, as they pushed them into a siding. "I see you have a fresh load for us to move."

Rusty was being kept busy moving the dump wagons from the middle terrace to the first of the inclines. Rope hauled inclines were used to winch the hoppers up and down, as it was quicker than taking them through the spiral tunnels that the engines used to get to the upper levels. The hoppers also carried refuse and smaller rocks that couldn't be used as slate. "Here's another lot to go down!" he said.

"Good luck, guys!" Sandbar added. "You're all doing great!"

---

Meanwhile, in a higher section of the quarry, Duke and Rheneas were bringing a loaded train down from the Top Terrace. They needed two engines due to the steep gradients and heavy loads. "Watch the speed back there!" Duke called.

"Understood, Gra- I mean, Duke!" Rheneas said, quickly. "I nearly called him Grandpuff, Yona. Whoops!"

"Yona not understand why you call big brown engine Grandpuff Yona," Yona said.

"There was a comma between 'Grandpuff' and 'Yona'," Rheneas said. "I should probably pronounce my pauses a little more carefully."

Suddenly, there was a jolt. "What's going on up there?" Rheneas asked.

"We misjudged the weight!" Cheerilee called back, from Duke's cab. "The train is too heavy for the gradient, and our brakes won't hold it! We're going to derail!" She grabbed the cab radio, and began to speak. "Quarry Control, do you read me, over?"

"This is Quarry Control, we are reading you loud and clear, over."

"We have a loaded train that is out of control, repeat, out of control. Requesting you set derailer switch and prepare cleanup crew for recovery."

"Understood, setting derailing siding now. Prepare to bail and detach any unneccesary engines. Out."

Duke called back to Rheneas as they continued to gain speed. "Uncouple from the train and stop! You don't want to crash into this lot when it derails!"

"What about you?"

"I've been in worse scrapes in the past! Now go!"

Yona scrambled foward, shimmying over Rheneas running board until she reached the front. She reached forward, and undid the coupling connecting her engine to the train, then she dropped back to her cab and applied the brakes. Rheneas came to a safe and succesful stop.

The same could not be said of Duke. He and the trucks roared onto the middle terrace going at well over 40 miles an hour, and Cheerilee jumped as Duke hit the derailing switch and, well, derailed, coming to a stop at the crash barrier that prevented him from falling over the edge. The wagons broke apart in the impact, sending slate flying everywhere.

"Oh dear," said Rheneas, as he approached the crash site. "What a mess. This will take a while to clean up."

"Yona think we need crane. Yona thankful nobody was hurt."

"Indeed," Cheerilee said, "but Duke may need some repairs."

---

Later that day, Skarloey towed the damaged Duke back to Crovan's Gate. "Good Heavens!" said Mr Percival. "What happened, Skarloey?"

"Duke had a bit of an accident up in the Quarry," Skarloey explained. "The derailment was caused by an overloaded train. Luckily, nobody was hurt, but Duke is looking a little worse for wear."

"Very funny," Duke replied. "I can handle a few scrapes and I've had worse incidents than this."

"Am I talking to Duke or Stanley?" Mr Percival asked, confused.

"But we're one engine down," Ocellus said. "The Upper Terrace is now only being operated by one engine. We can't spare any of the engines from other parts of the quarry, and we need two engines to move the supplies down to Crovan's Gate. We need another engine to cover for Duke whilst he's repaired."

"Indeed," Mr Percival replied. "We do need a new engine. There's a Kerr Stuart Wren that's just finished working at a power station they've been building near Brendam, and furthermore he's the right gauge. But we need somebody to drive him."

---

The next morning, on the other side of the island, a passenger train sped onto the island from the mainland. This service had originated at Aberystwyth and had run direct. The passenger service was quite busy too, and one of the compartments had three people in it, as well as luggage.

The first person was an older man with blue skin, white hair, and orange eyes, dressed in fairly informal attire of a blue shirt, greyish pants and a pair of brown shoes. The second person was a woman, who was the man's wife. She had yellow skin and purplish hair, along with purple eyes. She was currently wearing a green dress with black shoes and socks.

The last person was a young boy, who looked awkwardly out to sea. He had cream skin and turquoise eyes and hair, the latter of which refused to stay down no matter how much water you added to it or how much you combed it. He wore a necklace with a purple string, turquoise beads, and a pink gem at the bottom. He also wore a black T shirt, white casual jacket, browny grey pants, white and turquoise shoes, and a black hat.

"How are you, son?" asked the man.

"Missing home," the boy replied, sounding down.

The woman scooted over to him. "Terramar," she said, soothingly, "I know how much you miss Bala, but this is a fresh new start for us, and a great new opportunity! Your father's new job is a good one, and Crovan's Gate is a railway town. Besides, you'll get to see your sister again."

Terramar sighed. "Thanks, mom," he replied. "It's still not easy, leaving your friends behind and moving to a completely new town."

"I know," his mother said. "That's why if you need anything, let me know. I'll be there."

"Next stop, Crovan's Gate," said the guard over the intercom.

"That's us, right?" Terramar said. "I'll go to the door."

As he left and closed the compartment door, the man looked at the woman. "I think you coddle the boy too much, Ocean Flow."

"He won't be around forever, Sky Beak," Ocean Flow replied. Their real names were Sam Braintree and Olinda Frome respectively, but they went by nicknames that were in the former case easier and in the latter because she didn't like her real name. "I want to enjoy this before he's gone."

"Fair enough, but he will need to toughen up a bit eventually," Sky Beak said, as the train came to a stop. "Ah! Here we are! Lovely Crovan's Gate, our new home!"

Picking up bags alongside his wife, they stepped out onto the platform into a hullabaloo of activity. Trains were constantly arriving and departing, and it didn't take them long to find Terramar. Or Silverstream, for that matter.

"Terramar!" the girl squealed, already wrapping him in one of her legendary hugs. "It's so amazing to see you! There's so much for us to do! We can go swimming, and make things out of shells, and-"

"Be- able- to- breathe?" Terramar asked, whose face had gone blue.

Silverstream released her grip. "Oh. Sorry. But welcome to Sodor!"

"I see you've already given your little brother the greeting, eh?" Sky Beak asked.

"Dad!" Terramar protested. "I'm only the younger by three minutes!"

"Shall we go and get checked in?" Ocean Flow suggested. "Silverstream, why not show Terramar around?"

"Happily!" Silverstream cried, and dragged her brother off into the crowd.

---

After a sightseeing tour conducted at breakneck pace, with Silverstream speaking at a rate of five words per second, they reached the shops of the Skarloey Railway. "And this is where I work!" she said, indicating to the six engines out on display. "Skarloey, Rheneas, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, Rusty, and Duncan!"

The engines all said hello in response.

"And their drivers. Terramar, meet Ocellus, Sandbar, Smoulder, Gallus, and Yona! They're my best friends!"

"Hi!" said Gallus, the first thing he had said to any of them all morning. "Nice to see another boy around here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Smoulder.

"Nothing in particular," Gallus replied.

"Yona think gender not important in working railway!"

"Does she always talk like that?" asked Terramar.

"Yeah," Silverstream said. "She's fun, though. See Sandbar over there? He and Ocellus have crushes on each other."

"No we don't!" they both said, in unison, although their red cheeks gave a critical clue away.

Just then, Mr Percival arrived. "Ah!" he said. "There you are. We have a busy day at the Quarry today, and we have a new engine arriving to help out whilst Duke is... indisposed. Unfortunately, we have no driver for him."

Silverstream spoke up. "My brother can help! He drove engines on the Bala Lake Railway."

"I did," Terramar replied. "But I'm not sure the skills are directly transferrable."

"What's your name?" Mr Percival asked.

"Terrance Marten, sir," Terramar replied. "Most people call me Terramar, though. Apparently it's because I spent loads of time on a beach as a little kid."

"Well, it does translate as 'Landsea', so that makes sense."

Just then, the new engine was lowered onto the rails by a crane pulled by a main line engine. The engine was painted green with white lining, and had two large domes connected to the boiler by a tangle of copper pipework, in front of which sat a flat topped saddle tank. It had two outside cylinders and an open sided cab atop the firebox and driver's seat. The firebox and firebox back end were also fairly simplistic, as would befit a narrow gauge engine built cheaply. The whistle was mounted atop one of the domes, and although he had front windows the cab was still very exposed. He looked very worried.

"This," said Mr Percival, "is Luke. He is here to help us whilst Duke is out of action. Terramar, would you mind being his driver?"

"Not at all!" Terramar said, as he walked over to Luke. It had been a very productive morning for him. He had gone from having no friends at all to 11 in the space of only 10 minutes.

"I hope you don't mind hard work!" said Ocellus. "Things can get pretty tough up in the quarry."

"I think I can pick it up pretty fast," Terramar replied.

---

Ocellus was right about it being hard work. Life in the Blue Mountain Quarry was intense and constantly moving. Terramar and Luke were assigned to the Upper Terrace, bringing slate down the higher levels to a series of cableways called 'blondins'. From here, the slate was lowered into a workshop and cut into pieces with a buzz saw, before being loaded into open sided wagons and stacked upright. The rock could be cut in this way as it behaves like wood, with veins and routes to make it easier to cut. Those pieces that were too small to be used as roofing were instead loaded into different trucks and taken away to be broken up into smaller bits, to be used either as gravel or ballast. Both Terramar and Luke were having a great time moving slate back and forth, but the work was exhausting, and by the time the klaxon sounded to signal 'end of shift', they were very tired.

Terramar backed Luke into the shed at Blue Mountain as there wasn't enough space for him to stay at Crovan's Gate. "I'll rest here tonight," Luke said, the first words he had said the entire time.

"Yes, you better had," Skarloey said, coldly, as he prepared to move off down the mountain.

Terramar had noticed that. Peter Sam had been fine with both of them, but Skarloey and Rheneas had consistently given both of them the cold frontplate, so to speak.

Before he could say anything, Ocellus did. "There's no need to be rude, Skarloey."

"It's a matter of trust, not politeness. And frankly, I don't trust Luke as far as I could push him. I know what he did. I was there, after all."

Terramar was even more confused.

"Hey! Terramar! Over here!" called Silverstream. "Come ride back with me and Peter Sam!"

"Oh! Sure!" Terramar replied, and sprinted over, taking his seat in the fireman's position.

"So, how was your first day?" Silverstream asked, as she glanced back down the line to check for danger signals or obstructions.

"It was pretty fun," Terramar admitted. "Hard work, though. I could use a dip."

"I know the feeling," Silverstream replied. "Good thing the house has a pool!"

When they got back to the shed and the other drivers had signed off, Terramar decided to ask Skarloey something. "Why were you and Rheneas being so curt with me earlier?" he asked.

Skarloey sighed. "What I am about to tell you must remain a secret. You must tell nobody else, understand?"

Terramar nodded.

And so, Skarloey began. "Over 50 years ago, Luke worked alongside us on the line. This included working the quarry. And one day, he did something very bad, and for his actions he was sent away from Sodor, initially to Ireland. And I fear that, with him here once more, history will repeat itself once more. So that is why I don't trust him, and to be honest I haven't quite finished gauging you yet."

"What did Luke do?"

"You know enough, Terramar!" Skarloey said. "Now go. We all have another long day of work ahead of us tomorrow, and you must rest."

Terramar nodded, and walked away. However, his mind was still full of thoughts. What was so bad that an engine would be sent away because of it?

Author's Note:

This is the second adaptation of a special in this collection, and this one is my favourite of the 'Dark Age' films (predominantly because it tells an interesting story, fleshes out characters who previously hung around in the background, and depicts quarry operations very accurately-a rarity in Miller era Thomas). However, it also suffers from 'Too Much Thomas' syndrome, and had rather a lot of unneccesary fat on it, to which end I'll be trimming the story down considerably.

Comments

[Wessexbrony]

Nice to see another feature adapted. I imagine Misty Island Rescue is out of the question though.

So, in this universe, the Cambrian never adopted ERTMS?

[JimmyHook19]

and be glad they have cabs for rainy days!"

And especially like say some steam locomotives with all weather enclosed cabs. ^^

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

Blue Mountain Mystery already? Well, so far I am so glad it focuses mainly on the Skarloey engines, and secondly, YES! My driver prediction came true!

[The Blue EM2]

10748531
ERTMS? I don't think we have that in Equestria.

[The Blue EM2]

10748552
Not these ones, though. Our Equestrian steam engines have them!

[The Blue EM2]

10748743
I thought The Blue EM2's choices were good. I'm looking after his account for the day.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10749128
Huh, Ocellus did the same thing once before

[The Blue EM2]

10749171
Well, it's nice to see you again. Wait, why am I saying again? What I mean to say is, how are you?

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10749189
I'm okay right now. Can't complain

[The Blue EM2]

10749224
Excellent! Me and my friends get up to all sorts of stuff!

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10749241
I believe it.

[The Blue EM2]

10749301
Though the internet is a new one. Typing with hooves is hard!

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10749303
That, I cannot argue with.

[The Blue EM2]

10749304
Seriously, why are keyboards not ergonomical?

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10749306
Because humans have five digits instead of one to use for typing. Even our prosthetics for human hands have a thinner point to use a keyboard. But in honesty, if the buttons on a keyboard were bigger, then the entire keyboard would need to be bigger to accommodate for it. Plus, we don't have individuals with hooves, so it hasn't been thought of before

[The Blue EM2]

10749311
Eurgh! That's weird. Imagine having all those extra bits!

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10749315
Well, it might be weird for Equines, but it can't be for dragons, gryphons, hippogriffs, monkeys, etc. But I will tell you what would be weird, having a hook for a digit or hand.

[The Blue EM2]

10749321
Indeed. There's a character in a human story with a hook for a hand.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

Silverstream leaned out of his cab. "Come on, it's the better type of hot! The hot where you don't get cold, not the horrible, sticky type where you sweat loads and your clothes get stuck to you."

Tmi silverstream, tmi.

"I don't think it's too bad," said Ocellus. "Besides, we're sitting in the cabs of steam engines. Those are always warm, and be glad they have cabs for rainy days!"

Can't argue there.

"No we don't!" they both said, in unison, although their red cheeks gave a critical clue away.

Mhm.

Terramar had noticed that. Peter Sam had been fine with both of them, but Skarloey and Rheneas had consistently given both of them the cold frontplate, so to speak.

What's that's supposed to mean?

"It's a matter of trust, not politeness. And frankly, I don't trust Luke as far as I could push him. I know what he did. I was there, after all."

Wait, they've met before!?!?

And so, Skarloey began. "Over 50 years ago, Luke worked alongside us on the line. This included working the quarry. And one day, he did something very bad, and for his actions he was sent away from Sodor, initially to Ireland. And I fear that, with him here once more, history will repeat itself once more. So that is why I don't trust him, and to be honest I haven't quite finished gauging you yet."

I'm already worried if it's gonna be worse than what happened in the actual movie.