Thomas and Friends: Tales from the Mainland Volume 1

by The Blue EM2

Driving Lady Haven

Sunny wasn't feeling well. The evidence supported her conclusion too; she appeared to be running a fever and had come out in spots. Not to mention she'd developed a stinking cold in the middle of a heatwave.

She looked out of the window sadly. "Such a lovely day," she croaked. "And I'm stuck in here."

Argyle, who had agreed to look after her, sighed. "I know the feeling, Sunny. I had chickenpox when I was your age. They don't vaccinate against it in this country from some reason, so we'll have to sit it out. After all, it wouldn't help anybody if you infected them, would it? There's no guarantee your friends have ever had it."

Sunny nodded. "This will have a knock on effect down there, though. I wonder who will have to do shunting whilst I'm ill, and can't drive Salty?"

---

Alexandra grumbled as she was pushed into another set of trucks. "I keep telling you that railmotors do not shunt!" she complained. "It's bad for my cylinders, and could lead to other issues, like my varnished wood being damaged!"

"It's only for a few hours until Charles gets back," Lord Haven said. "Sophie is having to handle freight deliveries, and Rebecca's having mechanical issues... again. And as you're probably aware Sunny is ill, so that means Salty is stuck in the shed."

"Who is handling passenger duties today?" Alexandra asked, purely out of interest.

---

"What a marvellous day!" Lady Haven said, as she stood on Ray's footplate. "It's often been the dream of the upper ferroequinologist to work by train. And here we are, in that very position!"

"Indeed, ma'am," Ray replied. "But with only two coaches it may be a bit of a squash in the compartments."

Unfortunately, the passengers were about to have a very bad time. A woman had arrived with a pram, and inside it was a baby. And the baby was crying.

Loudly.

"What a racket!" said Harvey. "I had no clue something so small could be so loud!"

Goldie looked out of the cab. "I can think of plenty of small things that make lots of noise."

"Porter, to name one," Ray laughed.

"But we shouldn't be too harsh on a new mother," Goldie continued. "After all, she's probably going through a lot right now. Besides, Sunny was similarly noisy when she was a baby."

"You poor thing," Haven said. "Pipp and Zipp barely made a sound at that age. Come to think of it they slept most of the time."

The lady with the pram boarded the train, and just then the guard blew the whistle and waved his green flag.

Ray blasted his whistle in response. "I'll see you later, lads!" And away he went, steam shooting from his cylinders and chimney.

The baby was crying for the first part of the journey, but as the train got up to speed beyond Penmere (which was a request stop only during the morning peak) the crying stopped. The passengers breathed a sigh of relief at this.

"Thank heavens!" said a man. "I thought we'd be suffering through that the whole way."

Ray had to stop at Penrhyn to let Porter pass with some vans. He rolled to a stop at the signal and whistled.

And the crying started again.

Porter rolled in with the vans. "What a racket!" he said. "Whatever is producing that noise?"

"A baby," Ray said. "Somebody's brought an infant with them."

"And it's not very happy, I suspect," Lady Haven sighed. "Oh well. Keep calm and carry on."

The signal changed and they got underway. As they did so, the crying stopped once again.

"Hmmm," Ray thought to himself. "I wonder if there's a connection between me running and the baby crying?"

When they stopped at Perranwell, the final stop before Truro, they had a chance to test the theory. And as Ray had thought, the crying started up... again.

---

Eventually, they arrived at Truro, and the passengers got off. If they had been annoyed about the baby's crying, they were too polite to say so. Even the mother and baby got off, and so Ray stabled the coaches ready for the next run. The next train back for these coaches wasn't for several hours, so he was sent to do some shunting.

Whilst they were shunting, Lady Haven noticed something odd. "There's something not quite right with your locomotive brake, Ray," she said.

"How so?"

"I've got the lever hard down, but it seems to be having little effect on the brakes," she said. "I'll need to use the vacuum brakes for the forseeable future."

Ray was still shunting when Charles returned with some coaches. "Hello Ray!" he called. "Filing vans, are we?"

"These sidings need to be clean and orderly," Ray replied. "That needs an engine with a precise touch, not an incompetent oaf."

"I have never met such an oaf, so I shall be on the lookout," Charles smiled smugly. The passengers got on and off, and soon he was on his way.

Sure enough, it was time for Ray's return run, and he collected the coaches and shuffled to the bay platform. He hadn't time to use the turntable so was running bunker first. Lady Haven secured his brakes and then went to speak to the station master on the platform.

Her eyes widened a bit when she saw the mother and baby reboard the train. And, to nobody's surprise, the baby was still crying.

"I'm amazed it still has any voice left based on how it's been going," the station master admitted.

"It must be very upset about something," Lady Haven sighed. Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her. A youth sprinted past, laughing.

"Go home, English!" he shouted as he ran past.

Lady Haven was going to reply, but to her surprise there was a wheesh of steam and rolling of wheels. The coaches began to move. "What in the world?"

"The twit took my brakes off and opened my regulator!" Ray replied. "You'd best hurry!"

Lady Haven, without thinking twice, jumped on the side of the carriage passing her and held on.

---

"STOP! STOP!" shrieked the passengers onboard, aware of the impending danger.

"I can't stop without a driver!" Ray shouted. "Hopefully this hill will stop me!"

Just then, as he cleared the tunnel, he saw his driver clambering along the side of the carriages. "Are you sure that's a good idea, ma'am?" he called.

"It's that or you derailing!" Lady Haven replied. "And I know which is worse." She continued to make her way along the side of the carriages, looking like something out of a Hitchcock thriller. "I'll make it to the other end, I'll be sure of it!"

She kept on going, battling the wind that threatened to tear her off. By the time they reached the top of the hill, she was on the back of the first carriage and ready to clamber over onto Ray's running board.

"There's a tunnel with lots of dangly bits here!" Ray called, as they began to descend into the tunnel. Lady Haven covered her nose and mouth with the bandana she had around her neck to avoid inhaling any nasty fumes. Once out of it, she climbed over with one swift motion, clambered down the side of Ray's left hand tank, and into his cab. She shut the regulator and slammed on the brakes, bringing him to a swift halt.

"That could so easily have turned nasty," Ray said.

"I know all too well," Lady Haven sighed. "That's quite enough excitement for one day. I could do with a spot of tea."

Eventually, they arrived back at Falmouth after an otherwise uneventful run. The station master was waiting for them. "Sorry to hear about the incident," he said, "but thank you for your work. That's my wife and son you were babysitting, in effect."

"Oh?" Ray said. "How interesting."

The station master peered into the carriage to see his wife and son asleep. "That's the longest they've slept for days, I suspect," he said. "Thank you, your ladyship, for all your help."

"All in a day's work," Lady Haven replied.

The mother then walked over to the cab. "Thanks for your help, you two," she said. "Even if things did get a bit too exciting for my taste. But I think I have an idea what to name him."

"And that would be?"

"Ray, after your engine."

"Well, I'm quite honoured," Ray said, who seemed to be smiling.

And all was well that (mostly) ended well. Although Sunny was effectively housebound for a few more days, her friends made sure to video chat with her each day.

And that boy who meddled with Ray's controls didn't get away either. He was caught by the police and suitably punished- by being required to muck out Ray's boiler for an entire month. As they say, what goes around comes around!

Author's Note:

This chapter combined elements from 'Henry Sees Red', 'Thomas the Babysitter', 'Old Iron', and 'The Runaway'. The title is a reference to both the 1989 comedy film Driving Miss Daisy and the EqG short 'Driving Miss Shimmer'.

Comments

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

"It's only for a few hours until Charles gets back," Lord Haven said. "Sophie is having to handle freight deliveries, and Rebecca's having mechanical issues... again. And as you're probably aware Sunny is ill, so that means Salty is stuck in the shed."

How am I not surprised about Rebecca.

Unfortunately, the passengers were about to have a very bad time. A woman had arrived with a pram, and inside it was a baby. And the baby was crying.

This can't be good.

"Hmmm," Ray thought to himself. "I wonder if there's a connection between me running and the baby crying?"

Not to mention the whistle.

Her eyes widened a bit when she saw the mother and baby reboard the train. And, to nobody's surprise, the baby was still crying.

I hope one of them brought ear plugs.

"I'm amazed it still has any voice left based on how it's been going," the station master admitted.

I know right!

Lady Haven was going to reply, but to her surprise there was a wheesh of steam and rolling of wheels. The coaches began to move. "What in the world?"

Just what we needed.

And that boy who meddled with Ray's controls didn't get away either. He was caught by the police and suitably punished- by being required to muck out Ray's boiler for an entire month. As they say, what goes around comes around!

That's what they get for nearly causing an accident!

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

Wow! A story with Queen Haven getting some adventure, great job!

And boy, I haven't heard anything related to Chickenpox in a long time. But, better that than measles.

[The Blue EM2]

11494714
1. #RunningJoke

2 and 3. Loud noise is often quite startling to small children.

4. I know that a mother often can't help a baby crying. But it doesn't make it any less annoying when lots of people are crowded into a cramped space.

5. Another mystery of humanity we shall probably never get a conclusive answer for.

6 and 7. What goes around, comes around.

[The Blue EM2]

11494769
I felt that, given the others have gotten plenty of focus, to focus a chapter on a character whom I haven't done much with. For the most part, Haven has been in the background of my stories, and I thought it was high time to put my money where my mouth was and demonstrate there's more to her than being an aristocrat.

Indeed. Not to mention That which Shall Not be Named is still a thing.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

11495035
couldn't agree more.

[The Blue EM2]

11495112
That it is indeed.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

11495040
Well, you succeeded in that goal.

Which is unfortunate. I just wish it would all just stop already.

[The Blue EM2]

11495253
Thanks.

Frankly, we all do.

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

11495262
Interestingly, I’ve been trying to conjure concepts for Haven in my own works too. I’m just still in the processing stage.

[The Blue EM2]

11495266
Well, there is a suprising amount of fanfiction about her, including one that speculates what she got up to back when she was a princess.