Chapter 9-Lost in Time
Before Argyle's eyes sat an assembly of engines. Very old engines. In fact, some of the oldest locomotives he had ever seen. They were long, small, and had oddly sloped boilers. They also had long tenders on twin trucks, and large sets of driving wheels coupled to basic valve gear locked into an inside cylinder set.
The first one in the group looked over, painted a dull brown. "Boys, I don't think we're in the West no more."
Argyle was shaken out of his confusion for a moment. "You're American?" he asked.
"Yes, I am," the engine said. "And by voice you are too. I'm Omaha."
Next to him sat another engine like him, painted in similar colours. "I'm Nebraska. The cool one who produces promising results."
"Not so fast," Omaha said.
Another engine further back snorted. "That should be your catchphrase, old timer!" This engine was painted blue and red all over. "Jupiter."
Some of the engines them moved forward to clear space for the others, and the first of them was one of the largest engines seen yet from this group, with ten wheels and large fittings. "Looks like we found a toy railway," he said. "Small and everything." He suddenly spotted Argyle. "Leviathan. Nice to have a fellow American to talk to."
"I'm dual citizenship, actually," Argyle replied. "I was born and live in the UK."
"You mean England?" asked another, a sleek and graceful engine that had just pulled forward. "My name is Antelope." Her voice confirmed her to be famale- a first for this group.
This led to the final engine pulling forward. "Falcon. Need something scouting out, I'm your engine."
By this point, several of the engines were in the yard, and the newer locomotives looked at these new arrivals with amazement.
"Right, who invited all the cowboys?" Porter asked.
"Great, one of those limeys," Omaha said. "Form up until we can figure out where we are. We sure ain't in the west no more."
"You're on the west of Sodor, so you're in the west," Isaac pointed out. "And grammar check; that should be 'we aren't in the west any more'. Your sentence contained a double negative."
Opaline looked down as she saw the scene. "Perfect!" she said. "The explosives blew the ground open and revealed the portal to where the Forgotten Ones were hiding! We're another step closer to victory!"
Boomer then appeared. "I take it the mission was a success," he said.
"Indeed," Opaline replied. "The assets are in position, and we can commence the next stage. I need you to keep an eye on this lot and ensure that this lot don't disrupt my plans. With those meddling kids out of the way it should be simpler, but experience teaches me that the adults are just as capable of throwing a spanner in the works."
Boomer nodded.
"Oh, and Boomer? Don't let Goldie cloud your judgement."
Boomer nodded. "Of course." He went to his binoculars to start observing the scene down below.
Darkness fell over Misty Island. Trying to combat extreme tiredness, the Mane 6 hid inside a high level room and looked down to see what was going on.
"I'm glad they loaned me a coat," Pipp said. "I'm not sure how much longer I'd have coped out there without turning into a block of ice. But the material's quite course. Perhaps I could get Rarity to add a silk lining it might-"
"Shh," Zipp said. "Something's happening down there."
The workers were all marching out of the buildings and forming up in the square, whilst a strange noise played over speakers. A chopper flew in from nearby and touched down on the ground before them, and a figure got out, accompanied by three guards.
The figure in question was a woman with purple skin and some white streaks. This was combined with yellow eyes and a set of white, course gloves. She wore a green shirt, a turquoise coat, and purple heavy duty pants combined with a pair of grey boots.
Sunny's eyes widened. "I recognise that coat," she said. "I've seen it somwhere before."
"But where?" Izzy asked.
The three soldiers placed a strange machine in the centre of the town. The woman frowned. "It took you bumpkins long enough to get out of bed," she said. "Time is a limited resource, and I cannot afford to have you lot waste it."
The figures all stood silent, seemingly entranced by the strange sounds.
The woman looked around. "Wait, where's Violet Frost?"
Two more figures suddenly dragged her out of a building. "Let go of me!"
They dumped Violet in front of Allura. The latter smiled. "Did you really think you could get out of this, Violet? If so you're an even bigger fool than I imagined."
"You just think we're a bunch of dumb country hicks!"
Allura laughed. "You're not doing much to dispell that notion. Fire up the machine, maximum power. Make sure she suffers." She then looked to the other workers. "Now go, and get me what I want!"
The workers all nodded, and then marched off in perfect sync to do whatever they were being compelled to do.
The machine began to play strange music, and two guards held Violet's arms by her sides so she couldn't plug her ears. She writhed in agony- until suddenly her eyes flashed purple, and she stopped resisting.
"Good," Allura said. "Now find me the object which I desire."
Violet nodded as she got up. "Yes, Allura," she said, speaking like a robot. "I will do as you ask." She then walked off in the same direction as the others.
Allura snorted. "These islanders are utter fools. It won't be long until it is ours." She looked to her guards. "Form a perimeter and ensure nothing gets in or out. If anybody does you have authorisation to use lethal force."
The guards nodded, and headed for their posts.
"Wait," Izzy said. "That's Bash over there. He doesn't seem to be affected!"
"Then we can use him to follow the others and find out what's going on!" Zipp said. "Great thinking, Izzy!"
They dashed across out of sight of the guards, and then fired the logging engine up and set off. It was slow going with all the gears, but the workers were in a total trance so didn't hear anything.
At last they found Violet, who was erratically digging at a snowbank. Sunny hopped down to check her. "Violet! Are you OK?"
There was no reply.
Thomas and Twilight were on their way to the waste dump. They had been ordered to take leftover waste from the dig to the dump to clear the way for more machines. Thomas was most unhappy. "From passengers to this. Can this get worse?"
"Don't tempt fate," Twilight said. "But I've been thinking."
"Always a positive trait," Thomas said.
"The new engines didn't just arrive on their own. I've noticed something. All the stuff we've been doing has connected to that hole in the ground. The safety barriers being removed, the explosives falling in there, Opaline taking a look down there- what I'm getting at is, what if these incidents aren't coincidences? What if somebody had been manipulating us from behind the scenes to produce the outcome they want?"
Suddenly, they rounded a bend on the coast route, and there was Opaline, looking out to sea.
"Fancy seeing you here!" Thomas said.
Opaline simply turned around. Her prior joviality was gone, and in its place she looked annoyed. "Where's the treasure?" she asked.
"You mean the engines?" Thomas said. "Well, they're not yours. They are individuals with rights and freedoms, freedoms you have no authority to take."
Opaline looked incensed. "Who are you to tell me what I can or cannot do? You're just a silly little tank engine!"
"He's got more courage and honesty in one wheel than you have in your entire body," Twilight replied.
"And yet you two are so easily manipulated," Opaline said, a cruel smile spreading across her face. "Courage and honesty yes- but also an incredible amount of stupidity."
"Well, enough is enough," Thomas said. "You have no right to those engines, and I'm not helping you anymore! So there!"
Opaline blinked in confusion. "What did you say?"
"I said that you have no right to those engines, and I'm not helping you anymore," Thomas replied.
Opaline growled. It seemed she hadn't foreseen this possibility, and was annoyed as a result. Her eyes darkened as she looked at the tank engine. "Do not test me, little tank engine. I should warn you- those who cross me tend to get crossed out.
Thomas blinked. "Did you just threaten me?"
"Yes. I thought it was obvious."
Boomer was busy spying on the scene when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"You know, I'm really not surprised to see you here."
Boomer dropped his binoculars and glanced to one side to see Goldie standing there. "How did you get here?"
"You're on a public footpath," she pointed out. "It doesn't take much to find them. And you couldn't have picked a more obvious spot to spy on us from."
Boomer looked at her. "You're still pretty bright. But what is it you want?"
Goldie smiled. "How about we bury the hatchet, you and I?"
"What?"
"I've been thinking, and maybe their are benefits to being on the winning team," Goldie smiled. What Boomer didn't realise was she was lying through her teeth. "So, how about you fill me in on this plan and I'll get ready to move."
Boomer smiled. "You've finally seen sense." He stood up. "Right then, all we need to do is get these engines to where they are needed for the plan, and then we can push forward with the plan. Dropping the dynamite into that cavern was only the start- these remote starters are so useful for a plan like this. Then we could open the portal and get them into position, and then harness their power! Opaline will move soon, so you'll have to get ready." Boomer snorted as he finished his sentence. "I hope Argyle can cope with the divorce papers!"
Goldie laughed, a fake laugh. "I think he can. I'll be in contact later." She walked away, and then reached into her pocket and pushed a button.
Once at the bottom of the cliff, she met Argyle. "Did it work?" he asked.
"It went better than expected," Goldie smiled. "I was able to get a full confession out of him. We now know their next move."
"Indeed," Argyle said, as he took her hand. "Seriously, what makes him think you'd leave me for him?"
Goldie placed a hand on Argyle's wedding ring. "Till death us do part."
"Till death us do part." Argyle was briefly silent. "But hopefully that won't be for a long time."
Meanwhile, Misty was trailing another figure with blue skin and purplish hair. He wandered along, his eyes locked forward and seemingly muttering to himself.
"Hello? Can you hear me?"
No reply. Misty then had an idea. She reached forward and put her hands over his ears.
In an instant, his entire manner changed. He stopped what he was doing and turned around.
"Huh?" he asked. "Where am I? What am I doing? What is answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything?"
"42," Misty replied. "Look, something really weird is going on here, mister-"
"Comet. Call me Comet."
Misty nodded. "OK, Comet. We want to help you guys. But first you need to tell us what's going on with that weird woman and that machine."
Comet nodded. "Well, she arrived some weeks ago, and ever since then she's been using us to find this thing- something about a staff that can do incredible stuff. That machine is somehow controlling us, as there's huge gaps in our memories." He sighed. "I know it's not the best of introductions, but I'm happy to help bring her down. Consider me on your team."
Well, in the words of Tirek, 'this was unexpected'. New engines have arrived, and through unusual circumstances too. Each of these locos are named in honour of engines that worked on the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s and 1870s.
Omaha was one of two major wood burners used by the Union Pacific, hence the diamond spark arrestor fitted to the chimney. The existence of this engine is often a source of surprise to railway enthusiasts in the UK, as this silhouette is closely associated with Central Pacific. This image is a screenshot from Train Simulator Classic as no photographs of this engine are known to exist.
Nebraska is another 4-4-0 from the era, but very little is known about it. As a result, the livery and technical data has been taken from Northern Central Railroad No. 17, a new build 4-4-0 built in 2013 to original Rogers Locomotive Works specifications.
Jupiter is an engine that needs no introduction, having been part of the Golden Spike ceremony in 1869. For many outside of the United States it is the archetypal American locomotive, and as such appears frequently in pop culture. The image above shows the replica built for Golden Spike National Historic Site in 1969.
Leviathan was built as part of the same order as the other 4-4-0s, and was built in New York before being shipped to Sacramento for final assembly (a massive undertaking as the Panama Canal would not be built for another 40 years). The image above shows the replica built in 1999, which can today be found in Elizabethtown, PA.
Antelope was the engine originally booked to appear at Golden Spike, but it suffered damage in a collision and was unable to appear. Built in 1867, it had a service life of 33 years-not bad, all told.
Falcon was another of the 4-4-0s; the above image is the only known photograph of this engine.
For those wondering how Argyle can have dual citizenship despite having been born in the UK, the United States currently works on the principal that somebody is considered a natural born citizen if one or both of their parents were US citizens (both born in the US and naturalised), irrespective of where the birth actually occurred. As Argyle's parents were both Americans, he thus has American citizenship for the reasons stated above and British citizenship by virtue of being born in the UK. This also applies to Goldie; applying for British citizenship does not require a person to give up US citizenship, and by logical extension Sunny is a dual national as well. This has been citizenship law with The Blue EM2!
In British English, 'cowboy' is a slang term for an American, irrespective of where in the country the person is from. The name derives from the fact the first exposure many British people had to American culture was the Western genre (which was largely shot in Arizona); I will admit my perception of the country is very much shaped by the fact the Southwest was the first part of the country I visited.
And now we are deeper into the mystery! With the island under the control of a mysterious figure, who will emerge victorious?
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awesome chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter
In British English, 'cowboy' is a slang term for an American sometimes they call the Americans John Wayne too
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Thanks.
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This is partly due to his dominance in the western genre, although Clint Eastwood is closely associated with the genre too.
I have... many questions!?!
How though is the question?
Knowing Boomer, he likely will.
somewhere before."*
Seems like the engines aren't affected by it.
Maybe Twilight. Maybe.
Bitch!
crossed out."*
What is she up to?
Correction, the replica was built in 2009, not 1999.
Also, interesting fact, my friend kurtis happens to be a volunteer with the people who own the engine and where it's been running since 2018. And just this past Christmas he became an actual engineer to operate the engine. He already got to fire it several times but know he's capable of bein at the throttle of the replica built engine.
11875557
1. And these questions shall be answered.
2. Again, this shall be addressed later.
3. You bet.
4. Fixed.
5. Hmmm.
6. Twilight could be onto something.
7. Yup.
8. Fixed.
9. She just exploited Boomer's obsession for her to extract useful information from him.
10. Fixed. The confusion in my original text stems from the fact construction began in 1999, but would not be completed until 2009.
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10. got it.
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Cheers.
Wow! Unexpected surprises all around!
American 4-4-0 steamers? I was not expecting that! But more importantly, the majority of the wood burner steamers too! Even the Jupiter!
Well, it seems that Oplaine and Boomer’s plans are beginning to fall apart here and there. Boomer’s obsession for Goldie is clouding his better judgment, and Opaline’s true colors are being realized by Thomas and Twilight.
With all these twists and turns, our heroes are gaining all the allies they can get to finally end the terrorism once and for all!
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Seeing as this year marks the 155th anniversary of Golden Spike, it only seemed fitting to feature some of the forgotten locos. You'd be amazed at how many people in the UK think that only two locos worked the entire route because of one photograph. Hence my decision to focus on the CP machines, with a scattering of UP locos for variety.
There's only so long a narcissist can hide their true nature, as we're seeing with Opaline. Boomer is also clouded by obsession and his own ego; he's convinced Goldie's just playing hard to get when she has no interest in him whatsoever. I'll admit I was in two minds about including the subplot where Goldie exploits this, but I feel it fits as she's ultimately doing it to protect the people she loves.
Oh, we're still warming up.
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That is surprising honestly. I would’ve thought most British people would’ve heard of the Great Locomotive Chase too.
Although, I think having all these wood burner steamers as Legends in the TTTE universe is a smart move! My own fictional railway in my settings has an old Wood burning 4-6-0 as a legendary character (based on Serria Railway No. 3) I am a little surprised you didn’t include UP 119, but I don’t care honestly.
True there. But I think Boomer is more doomed than Opaline is. True Opaline is too narcissistic to realize she’ll never win, however, Boomer is so lustful towards Goldie that nothing else matters to him. Besides, I don’t see any problem with Goldie playing along for the time being. I mean, I have her do the same for Pyrite in my settings. Goldie’s devotion to her real blood family is a strong one, and she’s one to do anything it takes to protect them. Including utilizing an enemy’s lust for her as their weakness. Plus, this is a huge upgrade from being used as a bargaining chip to get Argyle and Sunny to do Sprout’s bidding.
Maybe, but I’m surprised by all the new friends the main gain is gaining to finally end this madness for good.
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The Great Loco Chase is oddly unknown, but then again most Brits have a very poor grasp of the Civil War-if they've visited any battlefield, it's probably Gettysburg (which is why the museum there covers the entire war-there's no guarantee a visitor has been to any other battlefield).
Engines with alternate fuel sources have appeared in the show (Timothy (blue one) is an oil burner, which gets the clay pits out of a jam one time), and a wood burner makes a brief appearance in BWBA;
m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOGViMWIxODUtYzBmMC00ZGM2LTllMmEtYTE5OWVjYTRkNzMzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyODI4NDc5MTQ@._V1_.jpg
That's an excellent point. The parallels between Boomer and Hoffman are striking at this point, but the critical difference is Boomer is a very dangerous man prepared to do anything. Unfortunately, it appears nobody supplied him with much logic as demonstrated in this chapter. And I like the comparison being made here-unlike back in the first story where she had not much role in the plot, Goldie has agency here through willingly putting herself in harm's way.
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Ah, gotcha there.
That is true, but I merely meant the fact that these engines were the standard 4-4-0 wood burners, based upon ones that helped build the railways of America.
Yes indeed. Hoffman was just a corrupt businessman, Boomer’s a terrorist. But he’s clearly more lust and brawn than brains. Goldie has managed to outfox him before and she can do it again. On top of that, even though Sprout still failed in the end, here, Goldie is not as much doing this for herself, but more for her whole family blood and close friends, not to mention, with Sunny gone, she needs to do what is needed to get her daughter back and finally finish off the man that’s been causing nothing but terror for their family. Even get back at the crazy wretch that tried to kill them. Moreover, I definitely believe with this advantage she’ll find the edge to end this terrorism once and for all.
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Ahh, now I follow. Fun fact; the NPS originally approached Disney to build the Golden Spike replicas (as Disney had built several new steam locos for Disneyland) but they turned the job down as it was feared to be too complex. The job ultimately went to O'Connor Engineering, who hired Disney animator Ward Kimball to paint them.
Another excellent set of points. It nicely demonstrates how they are polar opposites. Boomer is primarily motivated by what he wants, trampling over anything that gets in his way, whereas Goldie puts others before herself and responds to their needs, especially as through the trials of the last two years the Falmouth crew have become a fire-forged family of sorts. She and Argyle sure were a match made in Heaven.