Chapter 8-Now Put those Working Hands Away
Sunny and her friends continued to make their way across the snowy landscape, their eyes tracking for anything that might help them identify where they were.
"Any idea where we are?" Hitch asked.
"Somewhere very cold!" Pipp said, shivering.
Zipp looked over to make a quip, but could see her sister was legitimately unhappy. As such, she took her own jacket off and gave it to her. "Here you go. This should ward off some of the cold."
"But won't you get cold?" Pipp asked. "I don't want you to be miserable too?"
"Hey, we gotta look out for each other," Zipp said. "Isn't that kinda the point?"
Pipp nodded. "You got that right. But we've been searching a long time. Will we ever find anything?"
"Found something!" Zipp called, as she cleaned some snow off a sign. She then read it aloud. "Welcome to Misty Island. Lumber company jurisdiction beyond this point. Please check in with the office. By order, Oregon Department of Forestry, Salem, OR?"
Hitch looked over. "We're in Oregon? That's in America, isn't it?"
"The United States if we're gonna get technical," Sunny said. "Uncle Moondust is always quick to remind us Canadians are Americans too, as they also live in North America."
"Very true," Izzy said. "I'd like some proper boots; it's a bit slippery in these!"
"We also have a proper paved road," Zipp pointed out. "It's bound to lead to a settlement. Let's go!"
After a few minutes of walking, they found themselves on top of a ridge, looking down over a small town made mostly of wooden buildings. Smoke rose from chimneys dotted across the landscape, and the structures were painted in a picturesque selection of red and orange.
"We've found evidence of human habitation!" Sunny said. "This place looks incredible!"
"More like incredibly empty," Hitch said. "There's nobody around, and the lack of noise suggests not many people. Why would the place be empty at this time of day?"
"Early in the morning?" Izzy reminded him. "They may have gone to work?"
"Good point," Hitch admitted. Still, shall we go and take a look?"
Misty looked worried. "What if Opaline beat us here and removed everybody?"
The crew climbed down from the ridge and began to walk through the town. The lack of sound was eerie. Doors banged on metal frames in the wind. Shutters creaked with the weather. Stoves seemed to be running, but nobody was tending them.
"I'm getting distinct Marie Celeste vibes from this place," Pipp said. "Why would anybody abandon a place like this, especially given where we are?"
"I can hear a radio, so it doesn't seem to be totally deserted," Misty pointed out.
Sunny was about to reply, when suddenly she heard a loud drumbeat. "Can anybody else here somebody playing the drumline from We Will Rock You very fast?" she asked.
"Yeah!" Zipp said. "I think it's coming from near the treeline."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sunny said. "Let's go!"
As they walked away, Misty facepalmed. "Why is everybody walking towards the weird noises instead of away from them?"
Back on Sodor, Thomas was awakened by a whistle. "Hello?"
"Ah, Thomas! You're awake!" said a familiar voice. Sure enough, Opaline emerged from the darkness with her gear. "Glad you could make it."
"I'm always glad to help out a friend," Thomas said. "So, what's the plan for tonight?"
Opaline hopped onto the footplate, standing on the opposite side to Twilight. "I think I've located where the treasure is. It's somewhere further along from the big hole in the ground. As I've got quite a bit of heavy equipment you two wouldn't mind giving me a lift?"
"No problem!" Twilight said, as she opened Thomas' regulator. The tank engine moved off quickly, steam puffing from his pistons. Sure enough, they soon arrived at the site, and Opaline got out her tools.
"Time to start digging!" she said, as she looked in the pit. Sure enough, she was down there the entire night, seemingly having dug both everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
As she climbed out of the pit, the sun rising in the sky over Sodor, she voiced her frustration. "Well, there goes our chances of locating the treasure today, although I did find this stick," she said. "The light means I'll have to retreat to elsewhere on the island. But what if somebody beat us to it?"
"How would that be?" Thomas asked.
"We know three groups have been working on the site. There's us, of course, another group of engines, and, of course, the archeological team that arrived shortly after the land collapsed. If we can't find it, then it must be with one of the two other groups. And if the archeological team haven't announced anything they probably don't have it. Therefore, the other engines must have it!"
"But why?" Twilight asked. "What use would a group of engines have for treasure? It's not as if we need to buy anything. All the supplies we need are given to us by the railway."
"Presumably to prevent us from finding it," Opaline countered. "Therefore, we'll need to search the sheds as well, but not now. There's too much light for us to work effectively, so I'll need to return later. Best of luck, you two."
Thomas watched as Opaline walked into the distance, presumably back to the coastal pathway she usually used to travel about. Thomas then sadly returned to his shed, his eyes downcast. He had gambled on finding the treasure to turn things around for him, but even that had gone up the spout.
Twilight brought Thomas to a stop in the shed and threw the fire out before heading away for breakfast.
Neither of them, of course, realised how close they had been to finding the treasure. But that things were about to change quite dramatically for them, with many thrills and spills to come.
They had been so focused on the work, they hadn't spotted the bright flashes of light coming from the pit.
The Mane 6 had finally followed the source of the noise to its origin, and could see an impressive sight. Steam was pouring high into the air from an assembly of machines, some on rails and some not. Several of the engines on scene looked like engines, but had cylinders set at odd angles or doing strange things.
At the centre, workers were processing huge cuts of lumber. A giant buzz saw was chopping a tree in half, and other machines were cutting bits of other wood into planks and useful shapes. Another machine appeared to be shaving the wood as well, presumably to remove splinters and avoid the wood turning into old floorboards.
At the centre of the scene seemed to be some sort of work song. The workers were following the loud beat that was pumping from the centre. At the centre of it all stood a figure whom they assumed was the foreman (or forewoman, should I say). She was, shall we say, a rather broad woman (presumably mostly muscle), with purple skin and white hair. Her green eyes seemed to shine with an unusual quality.
She was the one driving the work song forward.
"Everybody, come on!" she called to the workers. "Time to shine now! You gotta shine now!"
And then she began to sing.
"Hey, put those workin' hands away/
It's time to hit the beat! (hit the beat)
The sun is down, the stars are shooting/
Far as the eye can see! (whoo!)
"Come on over, join the party/
Just have fun with me! (with me)
There ain't nobody here that's watchin'/
Use your magic to believe!
"Ohhhh-oh-ohhhh/
The stars align, the moon is shinin'!
Ohhhh-oh-ohhhh/ (it's shinin', yes, it's shinin')
And can't you feel the night sky hummin'?
"Ohhhh-oh-ohhhh/
It's like it's up there callin' out to me/
(It's callin' out to me)
To me!
"Starshine Time/
We're only gettin' brighter/
We're glowin' up together/
We shine, shine, shine! (we shine)
"Starshine Time!
We're only gettin' brighter/
We're glowin' up together/
We shine, shine, shine!
"I said put those workin' hands away/
We're gettin' in the groove!
We're out here shining brighter/
Than the stars above the moon!
"Ohhhh-oh-ohhhh/
Feels like I'm one with the aurora!
Ohhhh-oh-ohhhh/ (we shine)
The magic's here, it's shining on us!
"Ohhhh-oh-ohhhh/ (so bright, it's shining on us)
It's like it's up there callin' out to me!
To me, yeah!
"Starshine Time/
We're only gettin' brighter/
We're glowin' up together/
We shine, shine, shine! (we shine)
"Starshine Time/
We're only gettin' brighter/
We're glowin' up together/
We shine, shine, shine! (we shine)
"Da, da, da, da, da-da!
Da, da, da, da, da-da!
Da, da, da, da, da-da, da-da/
Da-da-da-da-da!
"Da, da, da, da-da!
Da, da, da, da, da-da!
Da-da-da, da, da, da, da-da, da-da!"
The Mane 6 looked down, stunned, seeing the way in which the music was helping the lumber workers time their actions and move the tools into the correct positions.
"Remarkable, isn't it?" Zipp said. "It's just like a sea shanty."
"Wherever you find work, you find work songs," Sunny noted. "Music is a useful tool for conducting tasks to, and a way of telling stories. Song was a popular was of spreading news in an age when literacy rates were much lower than they are today."
Suddenly, some snow slipped from the top of the snowbank, and this caught the attention of the workers below. Work suddenly stopped as the workers looked up.
"Who's that?" said one of the engine, who had connecting rods on his frames despite his odd cylinders.
The large woman who had been singing walked up the bank. "I'll deal with this," she said. Once she was at the top of the snowbank, she looked at them. "I don't believe we've met before," she said.
"We haven't," Misty said.
Pipp glanced over. "That phrase is an alternate way of saying hello, which is considered polite."
"Oh," Misty said. "I guess I'm not too clued up on all the phrases yet."
The large woman smiled. "Welcome to Starlight Ridge, headquarters of the Starlight Ridge Lumber Company. Family owned on Misty Island since 1906!"
"It's certainly an impressive setup you have here," Sunny said. "Is that a heisler back there?"
"A what?" Pipp asked.
"A heisler is a type of logging locomotive designed to run on poorly laid track and shift heavy loads up streep gradients," Sunny explained.
"You're certainly knowledgable on this!" the woman said. "I'm Violet Frost, general manager and lead forewoman. And this is my team."
She indicated to the team. "We've been out working this place for over a century now, and trust me there is plenty of demand for sustainably forested Oregon lumber." She led them down the snowbank and pointed to the engines sitting in the work site.
She started with the heisler. "This is Bash," she said.
"Hello!" Bash said. "You don't sound local."
"We've come a long way," Hitch admitted.
Violet then pointed to another engine, who had lots of vertical cylinders mounted side by side above two trucks. "This is Dash."
"Fancy a race?" he said.
"In your dreams. Heislers are much faster than Shays!"
Violet shook her head. "Sorry about them. They can get quite competitive." She then indicated to the last engine. "And this is Ferdinand, our Climax!"
"That's right!" the engine said, his inclined cylinder continuing to drive a machine.
"Oh, don't mind him, he's just got a verbal tic," Frost explained, looking at her workforce. "I'll give you a tour of Starlight Ridge later, but for now feel free to make yourselves comfortable at the company canteen on Berrow Road. It's got plenty of warm drinks, which I think you'll need as you're not exactly seasonably dressed."
"That we aren't," Pipp shivered.
"Also, one last bit of advice- don't go out at night. Stay indoors, as that's much safer." Violet then smiled and turned back. "Back to work, boys!"
Izzy looked over. "What was that all about?"
Back at the worksite, work had been able to get up and running once more, as the parents were now rather more skilled with operating the engines that their children usually drove. As a result, things were on the move once more.
Argyle was looking about for any signs of danger. He had every reason to be- considering what had happened earlier he was concerned shunting explosives.
Goldie was in the cab with him, keeping an eye on the line from the secondman's position. "The story doesn't make sense," she said.
"Which story?" Argyle asked.
"Sir Topham Hatt claims the explosives incident was caused by rough shunting. That doesn't sound like Sunny at all- she's usually very careful on that front."
"Not to mention explosives usually don't behave like that," Argyle added. "Something about this story just doesn't make sense at all."
Salty was propelling the trucks very slowly towards the danger site, whilst Porter returned with some empties loaded with heavy stone.
"This process produces a lot of rubbish!" Porter said. "There seems to be more than we can move out!"
"Good thing this explosive can clear the mess out!" Salty replied. "Best keep an eye on your wheels!"
"That was odd," Isaac, at the controls of Porter, said.
As work continued, the explosives was shunted into position by Salty, who was then decoupled from the trucks and waited for a moment. The signal was still red, so he couldn't head back to the yard yet.
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light from nearby, and Salty looked over. "Did you see that?"
"See what?" Argyle asked, his eyes firmly focused on the signal.
Just then, another blast of light came out of the ground, coming from the hole that had opened up in the ground a while earlier. The light was purple, with some white streaks mixed into the formation, which illuminated the nearby rocks in all sorts of interesting colours.
Then another blast of light. Then another.
A warning siren suddenly began to blare. "WARNING. WARNING. ABANDON WORK AREA. ALL WORKERS TO LEAVE AREA IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. WARNING. WARNING. ABANDON WORK AREA. ALL WORKERS TO LEAVE AREA IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."
Workmen began to dive into the unloaded trucks, keen to escape, and Argyle noticed this. "Take the controls," he said to Goldie. "I'll get Salty coupled up."
Goldie nodded as Argyle jumped out and ran forward. He moved the chain into position and linked it through the hook, then gave the thumbs up. "READY TO PULL!"
They began to accelerate backwards, Argyle holding onto the front stepladder next to the trucks. The men were lying down in the trucks for safety reasons, and wanted to be safe.
As they rocketed backwards, the light grew more intense, but at last they were out of the way and stopped.
Argyle climbed up the truck. "Is everybody alright?"
One of the workers pointed over. "Where did they come from?"
Argyle looked over, and his jaw dropped.
The Marie Celeste was a famous ghost ship found abandoned at sea in the Atlantic Ocean. The vessel was found with most of its fittings intact; precisely what caused the crew to abandon ship or their ultimate fate has never been disclosed.
We Will Rock You is a rock song released by British band Queen in 1977. Written to give an interactive element to their concerts, the song is largely remembered for its distinctive acapella section built entirely on stomps and claps. Starshine Time's opening bears a remarkable resemblance to the song.
As questionable in terms of quality that Misty Island Rescue was, the film was notable for a renewed interest in logging railway from British fans of the show. As such, I have made some changes to the characters involved.
Bash is based on the Heisler design, the last of the major logging designs to enter service. Patented in 1893, the Heisler features two inclined cylinders linked to a central driveshaft, which in turn rotates the wheels. However, only the back wheels of the trucks are linked to the driveshaft, hence why the wheels are linked with connecting rods. 35 survive today in varying states of repair. Bash in particular is based on Cass No. 6, which during the 2010s was a regular performer on passenger services from Durbin, WV.
Dash is a Shay type locomotive, an early generation of logging engine developed by Ethraim Shay in the 1880s. The above image shows a Class C Shay, featuring three cylinders total and three trucks. The gearing gives them incredible power, but Shays are not what you'd call fast-on the Bald Knob climb they rarely get above 10 miles per hour. 115 are preserved today, some being built from bits of multiple locomotives.
Ferdinand is a Climax, the third major design of geared engine. Developed in the 1870s and 1880s, Climaxes are unusual in that they feature a cylinder mounted at a 45 degree angle, and the unusual configuration was one factor in the class' high speed. Around 25 survive today in varying states of repair.
Finally, what in the world have they found at the dig site? Find out more tomorrow!
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great chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter
playing in the snow.singing and drinking hot chocolate is a paradise for me
11874638
Glad you liked.
11874642
Something tells me playing in the snow wouldn't be a good idea in their circumstances.
Wow, they sure are far from home. Still though, if they're on Misty island, it's obvious who we'll see pop up.
Spooky!
So the story can continue.
Oh?
tasks too, and a way of telling stories. Songs are a popular way of spreading*
You'll find out soon enough.
Who?
11874667
1. Indeed.
2. Spooky indeed. Almost as if the place is abandoned.
3. Misty at least seems to be wrong genre savvy if nothing else.
4. Oh indeed.
5. First part is valid, and corrected. However, saying 'song' in the singular is correct, as Sunny is talking about song as a concept rather than specific pieces of music.
6. Agreed.
Find out next time.
11874683
5. Oh...
11874684
No worries.
Misty Island? I never actually thought you’d ever bring that up! But in a very unique way, you did it. But I find it rather interesting you made Bash and Dash a Heisler and Shay. I mean, I always thought of them being made into Porters myself.
But in other news, something tells me Opaline is gonna have a wrench thrown into her plans by the look of things in a way.
11875196
Incorporating Misty Island in the way the TV show handled the place would not fit well with the setting (and even in the special the explanation as to why nobody seems to know where it is constitutes an ass pull-this and other examples of lazy storytelling in were parodied to no end in the Brenner era).
I chose to go with a Shay and a Heisler partly as I lack familiarity with Porter logging locomotives-I'm not aware of there being any operational examples in the United States, although another Porter machine does periodic photo charters on the St. Mary's Railroad in Georgia.
Did you mean wrench, by the way?
11875208
True there.
But there’s that one in the museum in Mt. Rainer Logging Railway.
Yeah, that’s what I meant.
11875210
Agreed.
I'd forgotten about that one. Silly me.
Just checking.
11875218
No worries, Mate. I mean, it’s the only Porter I know of so far.
Of course.
11875224
Thanks. Mind you, I have operated one in simulation; Train Simulator Classic has a logging railroad pack which features two as well as a very buggy 2-6-0.
11875228
That’s cool, what kind of Porter was it?
11875229
The pack contains the 0-4-0 and 0-4-2 versions. Both are saddle tanks.
11875249
There are porters that aren’t saddle tanks?
11875253
There's one in Finland that's a side tank.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Porterveturi.jpg/1280px-Porterveturi.jpg
11875257
I didn’t even know about that one.
11875258
Neither did I, to be honest.