Flour Power
It was night time in Cornwall, and the scene was oddly beautiful. The moon shone in the night sky, hanging over the landscape as the stars twinkled in the night sky. Normally, most children would have been asleep at this time of day, but not all were. The line was required to keep going through the night albeit with a skeleton crew, and this meant the sounds of engines running up and down the line were clearly audible to all watching.
Sophie was still on shed when the foreman arrived. He looked very tired, and was about to hand over his shift to the night foreman. "Good night," he said.
Sophie looked a little confused. "Isn't that normally used as a way of saying goodbye?" she asked.
"I suppose it is," said the foreman, with a yawn. "We've received an emergency order from the flour mill near Penmere. They have a cargo of flower to transport to Truro Bakery, but they can't get the cargo moved as the lorry has broken down. Therefore, you and Charles will have to move the cargo by rail. After all, without the morning toast and crumpets the region will grind to a halt."
Pipp was there too, and nodded, knowing how her mother often started the day with toast and usually a small selection of cheese, complimented with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice or coffee, and this meant she had to get this job done to avoid annoying the locals. "On our way, sir!"
She jumped in the cab, fired up Sophie's engine, and before long they were on their way. The line weaved about in strange ways in the dark, and figuring out where they were going could be difficult with such low light levels. But thanks to the signals (and the fact railway lines always lead in one direction with junctions set in advance), they arrived at Penmere, where trucks were sitting in the platform. These were currently being loaded with bags filled with flower.
"Now, where is Charles?" Sophie asked. "He should be here by now."
"Hello!" said a voice, and sure enough Charles was there, sitting to Sophie's left.
"How long have you been there?" Pipp asked.
"About five minutes," Zipp replied. "We can't exactly go until you've cleared the points. That's rather how single track railways work."
"It is a bit strange though, isn't it?" Charles said. "The gas lamps, the dim lighting- it feels like something out of film noir, doesn't it? Any moment now a burly detective will appear and start talking through the side of his mouth."
Zipp leaned out of the cab, a deerstalker on her head. "Elementary, my Dear Pipp."
"He never says that in the books," Pipp replied. "Now then, shall we get this flour moved?"
The train was split into two separate formations, and Charles set off with the first portion. This meant a long wait for Sophie, as the single line would not clear for a while. She sighed, and her eyes began to drift about. Beyond the hazy lights of the station and whatever few lights remained on in Penmere, the place did have a somewhat spooky air. The whistling noise through the branches didn't help.
And there was a constant knocking noise, which was more irritating than scary. "There's a tree, blowing in the wind," Sophie said.
"Better that then a candle," Pipp said. "Or maybe an answer."
"I'm not sure the readers will get that joke," Sophie replied.
Izzy suddenly appeared on the platform. "Breaking the fourth wall is my job, not yours!" She then just as suddenly vanished.
"What was that about?" Pipp asked.
"Beats me," Sophie replied. "I've not been able to figure out how she does that- you know, fourth wall break and teleport about the place."
They continued to wait for what seemed like ages, until there was a sudden rumbling sound in the distance.
"What a strange sound," said Sophie, as they got on their way. Quite apart from that sentence having a satisfying sense of sibilance, the rumbling sound soon grew louder.
Just then, a truck suddenly appeared in their view, stuck on a level crossing. "STOP!" Sophie shouted.
It was too late. They slammed into the cart and smashed it apart on impact, and its cargo flew high into the air and all over Sophie.
Sophie coughed. "I think some of that got in my intakes," she said, looking annoyed.
Pipp, on the other hand, looked mildly amused. "You're all covered in flour!" she said. "You look like a ghost!"
Sophie looked forward, a devious plan forming in her mind. "Charles does like a good ghost. Shall we give him a scare?"
Pipp smiled. "I love a good ghost story too. Let's do it!"
And with that, they rattled away, seeing nothing out of the ordinary for the rest of the trip.
Charles had just finished shunting at the yard, and was about to move off the stabling line when he suddenly heard a strange sounding horn. "What was that?" he asked.
"It sounded oddly familiar," Zipp said, and she looked back- before she realised why. Pulling into the goods loop was Sophie, who was covered in flour and looked very odd indeed. "Hey! You are aware Halloween's in October, right?"
"Well, don't Americans mark Christmas in July?" Sophie asked in return.
"That's a nickname for Independence Day," Charles explained. "Usually involving a lot of barbeque and fireworks."
"Still, good effort on the disguise," Zipp said. "It had me fooled for a moment."
"Well, it came together by accident," Sophie said. "You see, somebody left a cart in the line..."
Once their work was completed, both engines returned back down to Falmouth together, and parked up on the stabling siding together ready for the next day's work. Pipp had already promised to wash Sophie down the next morning, and sure enough the ghost of the branch line was returned to her former identity, ready to continue her work for the Falmouth Branch.
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awesome chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter
I want to say "still on shed' is a mistake or typo, but for once I'm not sure if it is.
bags filled with flour.*
Despite the episode this is based on isn't accurate on how flour is/should be transported, it's happens to be my favorite episode from the season it's from. Even if the narrator calls Thomas's coal bunker a tender for some reason.
11856604
Glad you liked.
11856616
1. It is not. As previously noted 'on shed' is British English.
2. Fixed. This is the problem with predictive text...
As a tribute to the classic episode Ghost Train, Flour Power works pretty well.
11856636
Agreed. Not 100% perfect, but still a good episode imo.
11856649
Agreed, my fine fellow.
This was quite a unique adaptation. A fine tribute to both Flour Power and Ghost Engine.
And Flour Power is a nice episode in of itself, I mean the way it showcased how the scary stuff was only normal everyday stuff. Moreover, it was nice to see Thonas get the drop on Diesel for once.
11856835
I had originally planned to adapt this as part of Halloween Havoc, but chose to delay it as there is already a very similar episode in that compilation. It's clear to me why this episode is regarded so highly; it has a fun premise and continues the long-running tradition the show has of debunking the supernatural.
11856913
I think it was a good idea to delay it for here.
And I agree on that matter.
11856920
Thanks. I know the last comment is a tad unusual given magic exists in this setting, but I think it still works.
11856941
It does. I mean, magic or not, most supernatural things can be explained. And sometimes they can’t be explained. Plus when there are ghosts, it often times doesn’t have anything to do with magic.
11857273
The way ghosts are reported is fascinating. It has been observed in science that the human brain is highly suggestive, and is capable of seeing what the subject wants to see rather than what is actually there. It is also capable of fabricating memories; I, for instance, have memories of a relative's wedding, an event I cannot possible remember because I was two at the time. My brain assembled the memory from photographs and things other people have said.
Spooky, huh?
Truck driver: "Wait! Where are you going?! My truck! My livelihood! I can't seem to move! I may be injured! Call for an ambulance! Hello?! Anybody?! Why did they just up and leave?! Hit-and-run! Hit-and-run!"
11878876
Remember that most people in this world have rubber bones, as per Thomas and Friends. Besides, there's nothing in the narration that says the lorry is occupied.