Thomas and Friends: a New Generation

by The Blue EM2

Chapter 5-Obstacles can all be Overcome

Argyle led the two girls out of the door and round the back. The tracks, to their surprise, continued onwards round the side of the house and vanished into a tunnel.

"Don't worry," Argyle told them. "These haven't been used in decades." He then entered a tunnel, with the others following.

"What are these tracks?" Sunny asked. "I can't recall these before?"

Argyle nodded. "They were built to connect the harbour to a quarry and mine, cut deep into the cliffs. They eventually closed it when the tin got slow, but the track was never removed. You see, the landscape in the region is a little unstable. That mine is helping to hold up quite a bit of the cliff face. If it were to come down... well, we don't want to think of that."

They emerged to the other end of the tunnel, and saw a small shed sitting in front of them. "We're currently stepping over the site of the transfer sidings. The engine allocated to work the surface of the mine would place the loaded cars here. Then an engine from the harbour would come and take them away, and often leave empties to be dealt with. Then the cycle would begin again. The shed here was used to house the engine meant to shunt the sidings. It's also where we're headed."

"Is it haunted?" Izzy asked. "I love haunted things!"

"Not really," Argyle said. He sighed. "It's only haunted by my own failures."

He swung open a side door and stepped inside, before flicking on some lights inside and gesturing for the others to come through. "I brought some visitors."

Suddenly, all was revealed.

Sitting inside the shed was a small, fairly squat diesel. It had six wheels with coupling rods, and a cab mounted much of the way to the back. However, the rear of the frames was occupied by a bonnet, and the front of the frames also housed a bonnet, in which the engine presumably sat. The cab was quite substancial, suggesting this engine had been built for use in a place with quite a large loading guage. Some tanks hung under the running board, and some wobbly cab steps were positioned under the cab doors. But this wasn't what was most surprising.

The engine spoke. "Ahoy there, Argyle. I was wonderin' if you'd bring any mateys."

He did look a bit rusty. His paint had clearly seen better days.

Sunny stepped around the front, remembering what her dad had said. "What's your name?"

"I be Salty, ma'am!" the diesel replied. "Former pride of Falmouth Docks, then wound up somewhere further east."

"He's a British Railways Class 07," Argyle explained. "He had a lucky escape. At the end of his working life he was due to be scrapped, but he suffered a hot bearing whilst being towed, and they simply dumped him in a siding. I found him, arranged for him to be moved here, and I've been working on him ever since."

"That was about 30 years ago," Salty explained. "I last ran in the 1970s."

"It's been slow, frustrating work," Argyle admitted. "Getting spares out here has been quite hard."

Sunny took one look at the engine. "I'm not too much of an expert on diesel engines, but you could at least try to start the engine? That might help establish what else needs doing?"

"That's risky," Argyle replied. "I haven't completely rebuilt the engine. I managed to replace most of the electricals, but the engine is still mostly original parts."

"I say it's worth a try," Salty said. "Even if only limited, there's only so long a sea dog like me can be kept down."

"I also don't think Porter could tow him up the local grades," Izzy added. "Assuming we were to try and take him to an engineering facility."

Argyle nodded. "Alright. I'll give it a try. But be on hand to cut the power if anything goes wrong. OK?"

The two girls nodded as Argyle climbed into the cab. "Could one of you add some diesel fuel to the tank?"

Sunny picked up the nearby can and opened the hatch. She then tipped some into the tank, making sure to add enough to get the engine started.

Argyle then reached down and turned the starter key. The starter circuit fired up, and the familiar sound of an engine trying to start filled the shed. It stayed this way for several seconds than stopped.

Argyle moved the key back and tried again. The same result occurred, with the engine trying to start, but not quite getting there before stopping. "Are you sure we should be doing this?" he asked.

"One last try, Argyle," Salty said. "There be an old seaman's story that says a sailor had to strike a match to fire a cannon. The first two failed, but the third succeeded and saved the ship."

Argyle nodded, and turned the key one last time. After some brief revving, there was a change in note.

And that very moment Salty's engine roared into life, producing a very distinctive bass rumble as it reverberated through the room.

"Hooray!" Izzy cheered. "He runs!"

Argyle was astonished. "This is remarkable," he said. "It's good to have you running Salty, but I still don't want to risk anything. Nobody use more than 40% power until I can get the engine completely rebuilt, understand?"

The others nodded. Then Sunny spoke up. "Dad," she said. "I have an idea. How about we go to those places mentioned in your books and the sources you found, and try and somehow bring the magic back?"

"That's a great idea!" Izzy said, and hugged Sunny. "We can set off tomorrow, and explore Britain, and enjoy some great food and have crazy adventures! This is gonna be great!"

There was a cough. "You two aren't going anywhere on your own," Argyle said.

"But Dad, this could be our only chance to restore the magic!"

"I never said you weren't going at all. You aren't going anywhere on your own... because I'll be coming with you."

Author's Note:

Sorry, still not Thomas. But instead a character I feel is somewhat underrated.

Salty is, as most of you know, a BR Class 07 diesel. A class more or less purpose-built for the dockside, these machines plied their trade across the south of England for nearly 20 years. They also have a pretty good survival rate in preservation as they, much like the Class 08s, are extremely simple.

And tomorrow, the adventure begins!

Comments

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

11419442
Sounds about right

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

Good chapter.

[Sudrian Engineer]

I like the chapter titles, heh

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

"I be Salty, ma'am!" the diesel replied. "Former pride of Falmouth Docks, then wound up somewhere further east."

Knew it!

And that very moment Salty's engine roared into life, producing a very distinctive bass rumble as it reverberated through the room.

Yes!

"I never said you weren't going at all. You aren't going anywhere on your own... because I'll be coming with you."

Thx Argyle.

[shining paladin]

awesome

[The Blue EM2]

11419444
Indeed.

[The Blue EM2]

11419448
Thanks. Anything particularly stand out?

[The Blue EM2]

11419492
Thanks. I like thematic chapter naming in my stories.

[The Blue EM2]

11419550
Indeed. Nice to give one of TTTE's more obscure characters some love.

[The Blue EM2]

11419557

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

11419653
The way Salty was hidden. I'm impressed that Argyle is the only one who knows of it.

[The Blue EM2]

11419730
That's loosely inspired by the story of Illingworth, an industrial locomotive that vanished in 1957. It was then discovered in somebody's garden in 2017, was recovered, and steamed for the first time in over 60 years in 2020.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

11420282
Ah, clever

[The Blue EM2]

11420339
Thanks.