Thomas and Friends: More Tales from Sodor

by The Blue EM2

Stranger than Fiction

Barry desperately tried to make sense of anything that was happening at that given moment. As he rolled along, with no rails, but along a main road, cars and lorries dodging out of the way of the steam engine rattling through the streets. Quite how he had ended up in this mess was a matter of some concern, and probably should be explained in some detail.

"Look out!" he shouted, as he veered back and forth. With no rails to guide his leading wheels, he veered backwards and forwards, randomly sliding from one side of the road to another. "Keep your distance!"

"Ha ha ha!" laughed a voice from his footplate. "They said they couldn't steal an engine! Yet I have done it!"

Barry closed his eyes, and suddenly found himself recalling earlier events...

---

Tyseley Locomotive Works, a few hours earlier...

---

Barry and Arthur sat gleaming in the sunlight at Tyseley Locomotive Works, with crowds of people walking around and looking at the many engines on display. There were big engines and small engines, long and short ones, steam, diesel, and a handful of electrics, and of course a small collection rolling up and down the demonstration line, the track groaning under their weight.

Out in front of their locos, their to answer questions, were Quibble and Clear Sky, both of whom were more than happy to address the concerns of attending visitors, even if this meant having to deal with silly comments or answering some bizarre questions.

"Look!" said one adult, pointing to Barry. "It's Gordon from Sodor!"

"Erm, what?" said Barry. "Last I checked I'm a BR Standard, not a Pacific."

"I'm afraid it's not," Quibble Pants quickly explained. "His name is Barry, and he's a BR Standard. He was built in the 1950s and famously got stuck going over Bleath Gill in a snowdrift! I should know, I was driving him."

"What's BR?" asked the man.

"British Railways?" Clear Sky queried rhetorically. "Operator of Britain's rail network from 1947 to 1997?"

"But the trains here say Chiltern, not Bwitish Wailways!" said the man's child.

"That's because Chiltern took over operations after BR ceased to exist," Quibble gently explained. "Would you like to go on the footplate?"

The child pouted. "Are there any porper trains?"

Barry looked very offended. "I am a proper engine!" he said.

The parent and child walked off, whilst Arthur sighed. "I think the public can be probematic sometimes," he sighed. "True, we do need them, but at the same time I feel like we aren't appreciated."

Moments later, Wind Sprint jogged over, being careful to stay in the marked walking lanes and not stray onto the track. "Mom, just thought you'd like to know they've started serving lunch for the exhibitors with tickets starting with 200," she said."

"Thank you!" Clear replied. "Well, off to lunch for me!" And away she walked, smiling, and with a spring in her step.

No sooner had she walked away, and Quibble was momentarily distracted by something, then there was a loud crash, and an a bang, and before anybody knew what was happening Barry was rolling away down the siding. "What's happening?" he called.

"You are now mine!" shouted a voice. "Doctor Caballeron always succeeds at his task, and taking unsecured engines is the easiest route of all!"

Barry gulped. He didn't like the sound of that.

---

Present day...

---

Barry desperately tried to make sense of anything that was happening at that given moment. As he rolled along, with no rails, but along a main road, cars and lorries dodging out of the way of the steam engine rattling through the streets. Quite how he had ended up in this mess was a matter of some concern, and probably should be explained in some detail.

"Look out!" he shouted, as he veered back and forth. With no rails to guide his leading wheels, he veered backwards and forwards, randomly sliding from one side of the road to another. "Keep your distance!"

"Ha ha ha!" laughed a voice from his footplate. "They said they couldn't steal an engine! Yet I have done it!"

Barry closed his eyes, fearing a direct collision with a lamp post. When suddenly-

"Barry! We're here!"

Barry looked to his left to suddenly see a van driving next to him. "Quibble!" he called. "You're here!" Suddenly, he felt himself veering to the left. "Get out of the way, or you'll be squished!"

Quibble accelerated past the engine, which crashed into a section of the pavement, and then formed up on the other side. "You ready, Wind?" he said. "Because I'll need to stop in order to get onto Barry's footplate. We'll only have a few seconds to board Barry's footplate, and that won't be easy."

"Let's do it," Wind Sprint confidently replied. Quibble hit the brakes and stopped, and then jumped out. He sprinted for the footplate ladder as police cars raced after the runaway engine. Moments later, he jumped onto the ladder with a bang, and began to pull himself up into the cab. The man at the controls looked over in disbelief. "Where did you come from?" he asked, surprised, and in a strange, nebulous accent.

"Portsmouth, originally." Quibble pushed him out of the way and applied the brakes, slamming the regulator shut as Barry skidded to a halt on the tarmac and stopped. Seconds before crashing through the concourse of Birmingham Curzon Street station.

A policeman boarded the footplate. "Ah, the notorious Doctor Caballeron, I see," he said. "Come with me. You're under arrest."

"Whatever for?" the man with the strange accent replied.

"A long list of charges," the policeman replied. "Drunk and disorderly behaviour, taking away a locomotive without owner's permission, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving an unlicensed vehicle, careless driving, ignoring pedestrian crossing, failing to observe traffic sign, causing ashes and/or sparks to be emitted on highway, driving on the wrong side of the road, failing to report accident, malicious damage, excessive noise, defective tyres..."

Quibble left the footplate as the policeman rattled off an incredibly long list of charges. Wind Sprint was there, watching in confusion. "Would anybody believe us if we talked of this?" she asked.

"I don't think so," Quibble laughed. "Today sure was stranger than fiction!"

Author's Note:

This particular story is a loose tribute to The Titfield Thunderbolt, one of the greatest of the Ealing Comedies that has become something of an unintentional period piece, as well as being described by Chris Eden-Green as being "to railway enthusiasts what The Italian Job is to petrolheads." The film's most famous scene features two of the characters driving a steam engine down the high street (actually a very effectively disguised lorry), and this scene was recreated here, with added levels of silliness.

Comments

[MightyAlpaca]

The things some people do...

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10804631
That's the one.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

Ah, yes. Good ol' Titfield Thunderbolt

[JimmyHook19]

Noice loose tribute anyways. =3

[The Blue EM2]

10804530
Thanks.

[The Blue EM2]

10804620
For money or otherwise.

[The Blue EM2]

10804660

10804661
This story features silliness in buckets.

[The Blue EM2]

10804742
Thanks. Ever seen the film>?

[The Blue EM2]

10804631
I'll give that a watch.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10805024
Indeed. It's especially crazy how Dr. Cal actually thought he'd get away with driving a tender engine on the highway.

[The Blue EM2]

10805032
Apart from the Titfield reference, this chapter is loosely based on a real incident where a former tank crewman stole a tank from a US Army base and drove around San Diego.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10805042
I remember seeing a video on that. Simple History covered it.

[The Blue EM2]

10805049
Thankfully, this ended far less messily.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10805122
Yeah, and nobody was killed either.

[The Blue EM2]

10805124
Yup. It is an E rated story after all.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

10805139
Of course. Besides, Dr. Cal didn't even have any weapons so no need to use force anyway

[The Blue EM2]

10805140
Indeed.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

"Look!" said one adult, pointing to Barry. "It's Gordon from Sodor!"

"That's because Chiltern took over operations after BR ceased to exist," Quibble gently explained. "Would you like to go on the footplate?"

Guess that explains stuff I wondered when looking up info on BR's history.

The parent and child walked off, whilst Arthur sighed. "I think the public can be probematic sometimes," he sighed. "True, we do need them, but at the same time I feel like we aren't appreciated."

Mhm.

"You are now mine!" shouted a voice. "Doctor Caballeron always succeeds at his task, and taking unsecured engines is the easiest route of all!"

Oh shit! 😨

Quibble left the footplate as the policeman rattled off an incredibly long list of charges. Wind Sprint was there, watching in confusion. "Would anybody believe us if we talked of this?" she asked.

Maybe...